US has seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel
in Caribbean, AP sources say
[October 18, 2025]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States took survivors into custody after
the military struck a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, a
defense official and another person familiar with the matter said
Friday.
It is the first known attack that anyone has escaped alive since
President Donald Trump began launching deadly strikes in the waters off
Venezuela last month and raises questions about how the U.S. will treat
the survivors.
Trump later confirmed the attack during an event at the White House. “We
attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built
specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs” he
said.
Secretary of State Rubio did not dispute that there were survivors, but
he repeatedly said details would be forthcoming.
The strike Thursday, at least the sixth since early September, brought
the death toll from the Trump administration’s military action against
vessels in the region to at least 28.
It is the first to result in survivors who were picked up by the U.S.
military. It was not immediately clear what would be done with the
survivors, who the defense official said were being held on a U.S. Navy
vessel.
The official and other person confirmed the strike and the seizing of
survivors on the condition of anonymity because the attack had not yet
been publicly acknowledged by Trump’s administration.
Trump has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is
engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same
legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war
on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks. That includes the ability to
capture and detain combatants and to use lethal force to take out their
leadership.
Some legal experts have questioned the legality of the approach. The
president's use of overwhelming military force to combat the cartels,
along with his authorization of covert action inside Venezuela, possibly
to oust President Nicolás Maduro, stretches the bounds of international
law, legal scholars said this week.
Trump on Friday appeared to confirm reports that Maduro has offered a
stake in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral wealth in recent months to
try to stave off mounting pressure from the United States. The New York
Times last week first reported about the effort by the Maduro
government.
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President Donald Trump speaks before a lunch with Ukraine's
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Cabinet Room of the White
House, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Venezuelan government officials have also floated a plan in which
Maduro would eventually leave office, according to a former Trump
administration official. That plan was also rejected by the White
House, the AP reported.
“He’s offered everything,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters
at the start of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy. "You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f—- around with
the United States.”
For the survivors of Thursday's strike, the saga is hardly over.
They now face an unclear future and legal landscape, including
questions about whether they are now considered to be prisoners of
war or defendants in a criminal case.
Reuters was first to report news of the strike late Thursday.
The strikes in the Caribbean have caused unease among both Democrats
and Republicans on Capitol Hill, with some Republicans saying they
have not received sufficient information on how the strikes are
being conducted. A classified briefing for senators on the Senate
Armed Services Committee earlier this month did not include
representatives from intelligence agencies or the military command
structure for South and Central America.
However, most Senate Republicans stood behind the administration
last week when a vote on a War Powers Resolution was brought up,
which would have required the administration to gain approval from
Congress before conducting more strikes.
Their willingness to back the administration will be tested again.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with Sens. Adam Schiff,
a California Democrat, and Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, is
bringing another resolution that would prevent Trump from outright
attacking Venezuela without congressional authorization.
___
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Aamer Madhani and Stephen
Groves contributed reporting.
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