The United States military said it killed four men in a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, part of a campaign that has killed at least 87 people.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the eastern Pacific,” the US Southern Command said in a statement.
In a video posted by the US military, a small boat moving across the water is struck by a large explosion. The camera then zooms out to show the vessel engulfed in flames and smoke.
The military said the strike was “at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” using the new title for the defense secretary.
Lawmakers briefed on September 2 strikes
The latest strike occurred as Hegseth and the Trump administration have faced criticism for a similar attack in early September in which survivors of an initial blast were killed by a second strike.
Legal experts have said such “double tap strikes” could be a violation of the laws of military warfare.
On Thursday, lawmakers received classified briefings on the September 2 operation. The roles of Hegseth and Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the mission, were under scrutiny.
Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told journalists the footage was “one of the most troubling things” he has seen and showed “the United States military attacking shipwrecked sailors.”
Republican Representative Don Bacon said on CNN the US action was not in accordance with the rules of war.
“The rules are they have to pose an imminent threat,” Bacon said. “And I think we could say they did not pose an imminent threat to our country.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, however, defended the military action.
Admiral says no order from Hegseth to kill survivors
Thursday’s sessions came after a report that Admiral Bradley ordered a follow-on attack that killed the survivors to comply with Hegseth’s demands.
However, Bradley told lawmakers there was no order from Hegseth to kill all crew members.
Democrats are demanding the release of the full video of the September 2 attack, as well as written records of the orders and any directives about the mission from Hegseth.
None of the written orders or audio of verbal commands was shared with the lawmakers, they said.
Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said the Trump administration has repeatedly denied their requests for basic information about the operation.
The Trump administration has defended the broader campaign as part of counter-narcotics operations, even though Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as labelled the US military operation as part of an effort to cause a government change in the South American country.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
