Unidentified bodies bearing burn marks have been discovered on a Trinidad beach following American boat firings in the Caribbean as part of Trump’s intensified crackdown on ‘narcoterrorists’.
Local residents were shocked to find the charred remains, with one body showing severe facial burns and missing limbs suggestive of an explosion impact. Another body, found days later on a nearby shore, was so disfigured that identification was nearly impossible, with one of its legs severed.
The incident has sparked intrigue in Trinidad and Tobago, a country adjacent to Venezuela where US strikes targeted boats departing from the coast. President Donald Trump authorized the attacks, alleging that the individuals aboard 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 these fatalities were casualties of a conflict. Some family members identified two victims as Chad Johnson and Rishi Samaroo but refuted claims of their involvement in drug smuggling.
Despite numerous casualties among individuals on boats from Colombia and Venezuela, the US has presented compelling evidence linking them to drug cartels or narcotics transportation. Concerns have been raised about the legality of these strikes, including within Trump’s own Republican Party.
Trump has pledged to disrupt the influx of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the US, with many in his administration advocating for aggressive actions against cartel members. While the president has refrained from direct intervention in Venezuela, he has been vocal about his intentions to remove dictator Nicolás Maduro from power.
Speculation has arisen that the US might deploy B-1 bombers following their presence in international airspace near Venezuela before the tenth strike on alleged drug traffickers.
Trump assured that Congress would be notified of any land-based operations but clarified that the US was not declaring war. He emphasized a strategy of targeting individuals involved in drug trafficking without seeking a formal declaration of war.
Video footage circulated on social media captured the moment when Trump claimed to have neutralized a purported “drug-carrying submarine” en route to the US on a known drug trafficking path. The President asserted that the vessel was loaded with fentanyl and other illicit substances, with survivors apprehended following the explosion.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged the incident on Twitter, stating that the surviving individual would face legal consequences in accordance with the law.