October 16, 2025: In a statement released by the White House, President Donald J. Trump said he ordered the destruction of a large, drug‑carrying submarine that was navigating toward the United States along a known narcotrafficking transit route.
According to the president’s statement, U.S. intelligence confirmed the vessel was loaded primarily with fentanyl and other illegal narcotics. Four people identified as “narcoterrorists” were aboard the submarine when it was struck; two were killed in the action and two survived. The statement said no U.S. forces were harmed.
The surviving suspects, the White House said, are being returned to their countries of origin — Ecuador and Colombia — to face detention and prosecution. In his released remarks the president asserted that at least 25,000 Americans would have died if the submarine had been allowed to reach shore.
“Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea,” the president wrote, signing the statement “Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America.” No further operational details, including the precise location or timing of the strike or the agencies involved, were provided in the release.