Now, the Trump administration's policy is to let alleged drug-boat smugglers go scot-free

by tadamsmar

Community

(This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday, Dec. 02, 2025 Tuesday, Dec. 02, 2025 at 5:12:47am PST

After September 2nd, the “kill everybody” policy for alleged drug smugglers who survived boat sinkings was changed. Now they rescue them and let them go free. The Biden policy was to bring them to the US, prosecute them, and jail them if there was sufficient evidence of a crime.

Nominally, Trump's policy is to repatriate them to their home country for “prosecution”. But there is no attempt to ensure that they will be prosecuted.

On October 16, Tufino Chila, who has a prior drug smuggling conviction and prison sentence during the Biden Administration, was rescued by the Navy after his vessel was attacked and sank because he was allegedly smuggling drugs. He was returned to Ecuador, and Ecuador set him free because he had broken no Ecuadorian law.