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By Gabe Whisnant
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday invoked the “fog of war” as he defended a second U.S. military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea, an operation that has drawn congressional scrutiny and raised legal questions about the Trump administration’s expanding counterdrug campaign.
Why It Matters
Lawmakers have launched investigations after The Washington Post reported that Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” on the boat, the first vessel targeted under the Trump administration’s counterdrug operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The campaign has since expanded to more than 20 known strikes that have killed over 80 people, becoming one of the most aggressive U.S. maritime interdiction efforts in decades.
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What To Know
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see survivors in the water after the initial Sept. 2 strike and described the scene as chaotic and obscured by debris.
“The vessel exploded in fire, smoke, you can’t see anything. … This is called the fog of war,” he said. Hegseth added that he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the mission and said the on-scene commander “made the right call” in ordering the follow-up strike, asserting the admiral “had complete authority to do” so.
The United States has also built up its largest military presence in the region in generations, a posture many analysts view as an effort to intensify pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump officials have framed the strikes as necessary to disrupt transnational narcotics networks, though critics say the legal basis for such lethal force in peacetime remains unclear.
Several legal experts told The Associated Press they believe the second strike likely violated longstanding laws governing armed conflict. The Pentagon’s own law-of-war manual explicitly cites firing on shipwrecked survivors as patently unlawful, stating: “Orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.”
President Donald Trump on Tuesday distanced himself from the follow-up strike, which reportedly killed two survivors clinging to wreckage. Asked whether he supported the decision to fire again, Trump said he “didn’t know anything” and “still hasn’t gotten a lot of information because I rely on Pete,” referring to Hegseth. “I wasn’t involved in it,” he added.
Hegseth, seated next to the president, defended the broader mission, saying Trump has empowered “commanders to do what is necessary, which is dark and difficult things in the dead of night on behalf of the American people.”
Earlier in the day, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told selected reporters that all of the strikes have been “presidentially directed” and that the chain of command “functions as it should.” She said the secretary and the president ultimately authorize each strike.
The administration has suggested that Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who oversees the operation, made the final decision to carry out the second hit. Trump praised Bradley as an “extraordinary person” and reiterated his hard-line approach. “I want those boats taken out,” he said. “And if we have to, we will attack on land also, just like we attack on sea.”
The White House said Monday that Bradley acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second strike. Hegseth has publicly backed the admiral, saying he stands by Bradley “and the combat decisions he has made.”
What People Are Saying
Hegseth during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting: "We've only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean."
He added, "President Trump always has our back. We always have the back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations than we do in this case and all of these strikes. They're making judgment calls and ensuring that they defend the American people. They've done the right things. We'll keep doing that, and we have their backs."
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut posted Tuesday on X, "Pinning the blame on Admiral Bradley - when Hegseth gave the order to kill everyone - is a gross abdication of leadership. He's not qualified to serve as Secretary of Defense."
What Happens Next
Bradley is expected to brief lawmakers in a classified session on Thursday.
Updates: 12/2/25, 2:18 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
Updates: 12/2/25, 2:46 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
Updates: 12/2/25, 5:06 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks. The headline was updated with Hegseth's additional remarks on Tuesday.
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