WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended a follow-up military strike on an alleged drug boat back in September that reportedly killed survivors of the initial attack.
“I didn’t personally see survivors,” Hegseth told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday. “The thing was on fire. It was exploded in fire and smoke. You can’t see it.”
Hegseth’s comments came just one day after the White House confirmed the U.S. did launch a second strike on the alleged drug boat from Venezuela in early September, conflicting with what President Donald Trump told reporters a day earlier.
“With respect to the strikes in question on Sept. 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Adm. Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement during Monday’s press briefing.
“Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” she added.
The Washington Post reported that Bradley had ordered the second strike and that he was complying with an order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill everybody.” However, when asked about the reports while on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he would not have wanted a second strike to kill survivors and said that Hegseth denied ordering it.
Lawmakers from both parties voiced their outrage over the report and called for an investigation into the incident, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who demanded Hegseth release the “full, unedited tapes of the strikes so the American people can see for themselves.”
During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump warned that the U.S. would “start doing those strikes on land, too,” to stop alleged drug traffickers.
“I hear Colombia is making cocaine,” Trump said. “Anybody doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack.”
