Donald Trump's administration took a "sharp break" from its typical handling of military strike cases by choosing not to prosecute two survivors of an attack on a foreign suspected drug smuggling boat, according to the New York Times.
Trump over the weekend took the time to brag about the military strike, saying it was an "honor" while announcing that two were killed in the strike. The Times also released a report focusing on the two survivors, who were not arrested.
"The Trump administration has decided to repatriate two survivors of a deadly U.S. strike this week on suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea rather than prosecute them or hold them in military detention, people with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday," according to the report. "The men who survived were being returned to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, the people with knowledge of the matter said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational and diplomatic matters. It was not clear if the government of either nation would prosecute the men upon their return, or simply release them."
The report continues:
"President Trump has previously described people aboard suspected drug-smuggling boats, which the United States has targeted in several deadly airstrikes since early September, as 'unlawful combatants.' He has claimed the authority, widely disputed by legal experts, to summarily kill such suspects in military strikes as if they were enemy soldiers in a war."
According to the Times report, the move "was a sharp break from the traditional handling of maritime smuggling, in which the Coast Guard would intercept boats and arrest people if suspicions proved accurate."