A massive controversy has erupted in the United States as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth may face criminal liability for a strike on a boat in the Caribbean in September this year. The strike ordered by Pete Hegseth was carried out on 2nd September as a part of the Trump administration’s action against alleged drug-trafficking boats operating in the Caribbean. On Monday, US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt justified the second strike that killed survivors on the boat.
A Washington Post report said that the verbal order was to kill “everybody” on the boat. “In an effort to comply with that order, the commanding officer of the operation directed a second strike targeting two survivors of an initial attack, who were “clinging to the smouldering wreck,” according to the Post.
The White House confirmed that the military fired twice at a single alleged drug boat in early September, as part of its campaign of airstrikes in the Caribbean. A source told PBS News that the military knew there were survivors in the water after the first hit.
The… pic.twitter.com/ddeQsLl9yY
— PBS News (@NewsHour) December 1, 2025
In this incident, 11 people were killed in the two Hegseth-ordered strikes. Reports say that the military knew there were survivors in the water after the first hit.
On Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Admiral Frank M. Bradley, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, saying that he had acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second strike after the first strike left survivors.
CNN montage on double-tap strike.
Don Bacon: When people want to surrender, you don't kill them.
Tim Kaine: This rises to the level of a war crime.
Mike Turner: If that occurred, that would be very serious.
Angus King: That's a stone-cold war crime. It's also murder. pic.twitter.com/sr5VKqv0sB
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) December 2, 2025
“Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was totally destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” Leavitt said.
Earlier, Pete Hegseth had refuted WaPo report about the second strike to eliminate the survivors, as “fake news”. President Donald Trump had also expressed confidence in Hegseth, saying that he believed the Defence Secretary “100%”.
However, this admission by the Trump administration has stirred a controversy as many legal experts opine that the Admiral Bradley’s action amounted to a war crime and murder, and thus, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who ordered the strike could be held legally culpable.
Notably, Trump administration claims to be waging a war on illicit drug smuggling to the US from Venezuela. Since early September, more than 80 people have been killed.
While Trump administration faced criticism within the US for its harsh measures against alleged Venezuelan drug cartels, after Karoline Leavitt’s statement defending the second strike, US lawmakers have intensified attacks on Pete Hegseth.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said, “This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true.”
Republican lawmaker Mike Turner said, “Obviously if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act.”
These remarks came after the he Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee announced that it will conduct a “vigorous oversight” on the strikes.
“The Committee is aware of recent news reports – and the Department of Defence’s initial response – regarding alleged follow-on strikes on suspected narcotics vessels in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” the committee’s Republican chair, Senator Roger Wicker, and his Democratic counterpart, Senator Jack Reed said.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi said that he expects the Committee to have full access to the audio and video of the strikes. Over 80 people have been killed on these strikes since September.
