US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says he did not personally witness any survivors before a second deadly strike was launched on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean — an incident now drawing intense scrutiny in Washington.
The raid on 2 September reportedly left two people alive and clinging to the burning vessel after an initial strike. According to US media reports, a follow-up attack was then carried out, killing the remaining individuals. The strike has raised questions over whether US forces may have breached international humanitarian law, which protects wounded combatants and shipwrecked survivors.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth dismissed the suggestion that he knowingly approved a strike on survivors, saying the aftermath of the first hit was chaotic.
“I did not personally see survivors,” he said. “The boat was on fire and later exploded — you couldn’t see anything. This is the fog of war.”
He said he moved into another meeting shortly after viewing the first strike and only learned “a couple hours later” of Admiral Frank Bradley’s decision to sink the vessel entirely.
The White House has since clarified that Adm Bradley, who was overseeing the mission, acted within his authority in authorising the second strike.
President Donald Trump has publicly defended Bradley while simultaneously suggesting the administration was unaware of the follow-on attack. “I can say this: I want those boats taken out,” Trump told reporters.
More than 80 people have died in similar maritime strikes since early September, as the US intensifies its anti-narcotics operations across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Trump claimed on Tuesday — without presenting data — that the campaign has caused a major drop in drug trafficking by sea.
The 2 September incident has stirred rare bipartisan unease, with lawmakers from both parties demanding answers. The Senate Armed Services Committee has pledged a “vigorous oversight” probe, and Bradley — recently promoted to lead US Special Operations Command — is expected to testify on Capitol Hill this week.
Legal experts told the BBC they doubt the follow-up strike could meet the standards of international law, which forbids targeting individuals who are wounded, incapacitated, or trying to surrender.
Meanwhile, the US continues to scale up its military posture in the region. Trump reiterated on Tuesday that maritime strikes would continue — and hinted that the campaign could expand onto land.