Bangladesh, Oct. 18 -- In a dramatic announcement that has sent ripples across the Caribbean and Latin America, President Donald Trump confirmed on October 17 that the US military destroyed a submarine allegedly smuggling drugs near Venezuelan waters. The strike marks the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive American operations against what Washington has branded as “narcoterrorist” targets.

“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people,” he added, suggesting that the crew had ties to criminal carte...