White House confirms admiral authorized second strike on suspected drug boat

A US admiral, acting under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, authorized a follow-up military strike targeting survivors from an earlier attack on a suspected drug smuggling vessel, according to the White House on Monday. Questions have already arisen over the legality of the Trump administrations lethal operations against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific, and the second strike has intensified claims of a potential war crime.

The combined attacks in early September resulted in 11 fatalities, marking the first phase of a prolonged military campaign that has claimed over 80 lives to date. The Trump administration maintains it is effectively at war with alleged "narco-terrorists." White House officials stated that Admiral Frank Bradley, currently commanding US Special Operations Command, acted within the law and his authority when ordering the follow-up strike to eliminate survivors.

"Admiral Bradley acted fully within his legal authority to direct the engagement, ensuring the vessel was destroyed and the threat to the United States neutralized," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. She added that Hegseth "authorized Admiral Bradley to carry out these kinetic operations."

Reports from US media suggested that the initial strike on September 2 left two individuals alive, who were then killed in a subsequent attack under Hegseths orders. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell denied these reports, calling the narrative "false." Later strikes that left survivors were followed by search-and-rescue operations, which recovered two individuals in one case but failed to locate another in October.

Hegseth maintains that all strikes conducted in international waters are legal, stating in a recent social media post that the military actions "comply with the law of armed conflict and were approved by senior military and civilian lawyers throughout the chain of command." However, the September 2 strike appears to conflict with the Pentagons Law of War Manual, which declares that targeting shipwrecked individuals is "clearly illegal."

Democratic Senators Jacky Rosen and Chris Van Hollen suggested the September 2 attacks could constitute a war crime, while Senator Mark Kelly called for a Congressional investigation. "If there were indeed survivors clinging to a damaged vessel, that could cross a serious legal line," Kelly said during a press briefing. He was among six lawmakers who recently released a video stating that "illegal orders" can be refused, provoking a Pentagon inquiry into the comments by the retired Navy officer.

The Trump administration has deployed extensive military resources, including the worlds largest aircraft, to the Caribbean for counter-narcotics operations. The strikes and the military buildup have heightened regional tensions. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext for regime change in Caracas, rejecting claims of drug cultivation in his country and insisting Venezuela is involuntarily used as a route for Colombian cocaine.

Author: Sophia Brooks