ecuador Releases Survivor of U.S. Strike โon Suspected Drugโฃ Submersible
QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador on Monday released aโฃ survivorโฃ of a recent โU.S. military strike on a submersible vessel suspected of carrying drugs,reaffirming its โcommitment to the global fight โขagainst drug โขtrafficking.โ The release follows escalating tensions between the United โstates,Colombia,and Venezuela over a series โof โฃsimilar incidents.
Theโ survivor,โ a colombian national, was seriously woundedโค in the September 16โ strikeโฃ and will beโฃ prosecuted in โฃColombia forโ alleged drug trafficking, according to the Colombian government. โThis incident marks at least the seventh of its kind since โSeptember, resulting in at least 32 deaths. Former U.S. Presidentโฃ Donald Trump has โฃauthorized the strikes, asserting the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels,invoking legal reasoning similar toโ that used by the George W. Bushโ governance following the Septemberโ 11, 2001 attacks.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa addressed president โTrumpโ on X, stating, “President Trump,โค Ecuador remains firm in the โglobal fight against โขdrug โtrafficking.” He emphasized the need for “unity among nations committed to peaceโค and prosperity” to address theโ challenge.
Trump has stated that two people on board the struck vessel were killed, and the two survivors are being repatriated “for detention andโค prosecution.” The majority of drugs flowing into the U.S. are believed to transitโ thru Mexico.
The strikes have โขtriggered a diplomatic crisis,notably afterโ Trumpโค labeled Colombian โขPresident Gustavoโค Petro “an illegal drugโฃ leader” andโ “a โlunatic” following Petro’s โฃaccusation that the U.S. government killed a Colombian citizen in the โSeptemberโ 16 strike.colombia โhas as โrecalled its โambassador to the United States in response to the escalating rhetoric.