The US military is holding two survivors aboard a Navy ship after rescuing them from a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean hit by a US strike that killed two others, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
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The disclosure, which has not been previously reported, raises the possibility that the survivors from Thursday’s strike are the first prisoners of war in a conflict declared by US President Donald Trump against a “narcoterrorist” threat he says is emanating from Venezuela.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One of the sources said the vessel struck on Thursday moved below the water and was possibly a semi-submersible, which is a submarine-like vessel used by drug traffickers to avoid detection.
Before Thursday’s operation, US military strikes against suspected drug boats off Venezuela had not left any known survivors and videos presented by the Trump administration showed vessels being destroyed.
The Trump administration has said the previous strikes killed 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who question whether they adhere to the laws of war.