Quito, Ecuador - Ecuador has released a man who survived a US strike on a vessel in international waters, the attorney general's office said Monday, after finding no evidence that he had committed a crime.

The US has deployed warships to the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela since August, attacking mostly boats that US authorities alleged without evidence were running drugs.

These raids have killed at least 32 people and drawn angry reactions from South American leaders, as well as widespread accusations of murder.

The man released Monday survived an attack last week on what US President Donald Trump claimed was a "very large drug-carrying submarine" headed for the US.

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But the Ecuadorian attorney general's office said in a statement there was "no report of a crime that has been brought to the attention of this institution" against the man, and therefore "he could not be detained."

Another survivor of the same strike was sent to his native Colombia, where Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said he had "arrived with brain trauma, sedated, drugged, breathing with a ventilator."

Authorities there said he would face prosecution.

Trump on Saturday bragged about destroying the vessel and labeled the men on board "terrorists."

In a social media post, he claimed the submarine was loaded with fentanyl and other drugs, without providing any proof. The attack also killed two crew members.

Asked why the two survivors were not taken to the US to be prosecuted, Vice President JD Vance told reporters that "so long as they're not bringing poison into our country," he doesn't "really care" what happens to them.

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Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa said in a post on X on Monday, tagging Trump's account, that his government was determined to fight drug trafficking.

"Ecuador stands firm in the global fight against drug trafficking and illegal mining, challenges that demand unity among nations committed to peace and prosperity," Noboa said.

In contrast, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro slammed the US attacks.

In a post on X, Petro said the US operation was part of a "failed strategy" to "control Latin America... and obtain cheap oil from Venezuela."

Relations between Bogotá and Washington have hit rock bottom, with Trump on Sunday announcing that the US was halting all financial aid. In response, Colombia on Monday recalled its ambassador to the US.