Unidentified bodies bearing burn injuries have been discovered on a beach in Trinidad following US actions against boats in the Caribbean as President Trump intensifies his campaign against ‘narcoterrorists.’
Local residents were shocked to find a corpse with a charred face and missing limbs, suggesting it had been severely damaged, resembling an explosion impact. Another deceased individual was found on a nearby shore days later, with severe disfigurement and a missing leg.
The incident has sparked intrigue in Trinidad and Tobago, a country neighboring Venezuela where the US targeted boats departing from the coast. President Donald Trump authorized strikes on vessels leaving Venezuela, alleging they were trafficking drugs to the US.
Lincoln Baker, a 63-year-old worker at Trinidad’s water and sewage company, expressed his belief to The New York Times that the deceased individuals were casualties of war. Family members of other victims identified two men as Chad Johnson and Rishi Samaroo but disputed allegations of their involvement in drug smuggling.
Despite numerous fatalities among individuals aboard boats from Colombia and Venezuela, the US has not presented concrete evidence linking them to drug cartels or narcotics smuggling. Concerns have been raised about the legality of the strikes, including criticism from within Trump’s own Republican Party.
President Trump has pledged to disrupt the influx of drugs, including fentanyl, into the US, with many in his administration advocating for aggressive actions against cartel members. While he has refrained from direct intervention in Venezuela to achieve his objectives, reports suggest he aims to oust the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.
There are fears that the US could deploy B-1 bombers following their presence in international airspace near Venezuela before the 10th strike on alleged drug traffickers. Trump assured that Congress would be notified of any land attacks but clarified that the US was not declaring war. He emphasized the intention to target individuals involved in drug trafficking without seeking a formal declaration of war.
Video footage circulated on social media captured the moment Trump claimed to have destroyed a “large drug-carrying submarine” heading towards the US on a known drug trafficking route. He stated that the mission eliminated two “narcoterrorists” and cited US intelligence confirming the vessel was laden with fentanyl and other illicit substances. Survivors of the incident have been taken into custody.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded to the event on Twitter, indicating that the surviving individual would face legal prosecution.