Admiral to inform lawmakers that survivors of U.S. military strike in Caribbean were valid targets for second attack.

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 A senior U.S. military officer is set to inform Congress on Thursday that the survivors of a Caribbean strike were valid targets for a second assault because their ship was still thought to carry illegal drugs, according to a U.S. official.

On September 2, U.S. forces launched an operation in the Caribbean that resulted in the deaths of 11 suspected drug traffickers. The subsequent strike on the same vessel has sparked debate over its legality.

Admiral Frank M. Bradley, then head of the Joint Special Operations Command, will assert in a classified briefing that the two survivors were considered legitimate targets as they were seen as capable of continuing drug trafficking. Bradley, now leading U.S. Special Operations Command, will appear alongside General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the closed-door session.

The Pentagon has not yet commented on the matter. The September strike has attracted scrutiny from lawmakers across party lines, raising questions about the administration's legal authority for such operations.

To date, there have been 20 U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific aimed at suspected drug-smuggling vessels, resulting in over 80 deaths. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated he monitored the first strike in September in real time, but did not witness survivors or the second strike, which he described as occurring amid the "fog of war." He defended Bradleys decision to execute the follow-up attack, calling it the right action to neutralize the threat.

Former President Trump, speaking on Air Force One, said he would not have approved a second strike but otherwise expressed general support while noting he was unaware it had occurred. Officials have indicated that Hegseth authorized lethal strikes on drug vessels, including the September incident, as part of a broader campaign equating suspected traffickers with terrorists, despite criticism from legal experts.

Author: Harper Simmons