United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the American decision to repatriate two survivors of a recent military attack on a suspected drug-trafficking submarine, comparing the action to practices adopted on battlefields during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In these conflicts, we capture thousands of people on the battlefield and hand over 99% of them to host nation authorities,” Hegseth said on Thursday. “Do we always like the result? Not always. But that was the standard, and it’s the same here.”
The semi-submersible vessel, which was believed to be carrying fentanyl and other narcotics, was intercepted by US forces in the Caribbean Sea last Thursday.
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Two individuals on board were killed in the attack, while the surviving crew members were rescued, treated by US doctors and handed over to authorities in Colombia and Ecuador.
