Ecuador has released the survivor of a US strike on a submarine alleged to have been smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. US military forces captured the Ecuadorean national along with a Colombian citizen after they attacked the submarine the two were on. US President Donald Trump said they would be returned to their countries of origin 'for detention and prosecution'. However, the Ecuadorean Attorney General's office has stated that the Ecuadorean survivor 'could not be detained' as there was 'no report of a crime that has been brought to the attention of this institution'.
Ecuadorean officials identified one of the survivors of Thursday's strike as Andrés Fernando Tufiño. He and the Colombian man, named Jeison Obando Pérez, are the first two people to survive one of the strikes the US has been conducting in the Caribbean as part of a major counter-narcotics deployment. Two other men aboard the semi-submersible were killed in the attack, according to Trump. The US military has reported that at least 32 people have died in a series of at least seven separate strikes since early September.
Experts have questioned the legality of these military operations, arguing they may breach international law. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has insisted that the strikes are targeting 'narco-terrorists'. In response to reporters' questions regarding the two survivors, Trump asserted that they were aboard 'a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs'. He alleged that the submarine had been transporting 'mostly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics', despite experts noting that fentanyl primarily enters the US from Mexico, not from the Caribbean.
Around 10,000 US troops, along with various military aircraft and ships, have been deployed in the Caribbean as part of the operation. The Colombian survivor, Jeison Obando Pérez, arrived in Colombia with serious injuries, while Tufiño has been reported to be in good health after his return. There is ongoing debate about whether these military actions are justifiable and effective, particularly with allegations from Colombian President Gustavo Petro about US attacks occurring in 'Colombian territorial waters'.
As US military strikes continue in the region, questions about the identities and fates of those aboard the targeted vessels are increasingly raising alarms about the legality and implications of such actions.
Ecuadorean officials identified one of the survivors of Thursday's strike as Andrés Fernando Tufiño. He and the Colombian man, named Jeison Obando Pérez, are the first two people to survive one of the strikes the US has been conducting in the Caribbean as part of a major counter-narcotics deployment. Two other men aboard the semi-submersible were killed in the attack, according to Trump. The US military has reported that at least 32 people have died in a series of at least seven separate strikes since early September.
Experts have questioned the legality of these military operations, arguing they may breach international law. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has insisted that the strikes are targeting 'narco-terrorists'. In response to reporters' questions regarding the two survivors, Trump asserted that they were aboard 'a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs'. He alleged that the submarine had been transporting 'mostly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics', despite experts noting that fentanyl primarily enters the US from Mexico, not from the Caribbean.
Around 10,000 US troops, along with various military aircraft and ships, have been deployed in the Caribbean as part of the operation. The Colombian survivor, Jeison Obando Pérez, arrived in Colombia with serious injuries, while Tufiño has been reported to be in good health after his return. There is ongoing debate about whether these military actions are justifiable and effective, particularly with allegations from Colombian President Gustavo Petro about US attacks occurring in 'Colombian territorial waters'.
As US military strikes continue in the region, questions about the identities and fates of those aboard the targeted vessels are increasingly raising alarms about the legality and implications of such actions.
