Guayaquil, Ecuador.- The Ecuadorian survivor of the United States military attack last Thursday on a submarine that allegedly transported fentanyl in the Caribbean Sea was released upon his arrival in the country, after the Prosecutor’s Office determined that there was no information about the commission of a crime on national territory, the institution confirmed this Monday.
The man, identified as Andrés Tufiño Chila, arrived in the country last Saturday around 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) and then underwent a medical evaluation, according to information from the Ministry of the Interior.
After passing the medical check, agents from the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the Police took him that same Saturday to a flagrancy unit so that the case could be heard by a duty prosecutor.
However, “as there is no news of the crime that has been brought to the attention of this institution that warns of the commission of a crime in Ecuadorian territory, he could not be detained because he also had no pending processes against him,” detailed the Public Ministry.
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Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced that there were two survivors of the attack in the Caribbean and that they were going to be repatriated to their countries of origin, one of them to Ecuador.
“Two of the terrorists died. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to touch land. The two surviving terrorists will be returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump explained that day on the social network Truth Social.
The leader pointed out that U.S. intelligence had confirmed that the attacked vessel “was primarily loaded with fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.”
These were the first two arrests made by the United States during the current “armed conflict” it maintains against drug trafficking, in which US forces have attacked at least six vessels in Caribbean waters, leaving a balance of almost 30 dead.
The attack against the alleged drug submarine took place last Thursday, as reported on Friday by Trump, who assured that having such a vessel indicated that “it was not an innocent group”.
The United States’ deployment in the Caribbean, which began in August under the justification of combating drug trafficking near the coasts of Venezuela, has caused increasing tension between Washington and the Government of Nicolás Maduro, who sees the operation as the prelude to a possible attack against Venezuela.
