Hegseth doubles down on Caribbean boat strike operations in wake of controversial report
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on boat strikes being carried out against alleged drug cartels in the Caribbean amid growing controversy over one such operation in September that came to light in recent days.
“We’ve only just begun striking narco folks and putting narcoterrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said sitting alongside President Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday.
Hegseth went on to say that commanders have his and the administration’s full support.
“President Trump always has our back, we always have the back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations, and we do in this case and all of these strikes,” he said.
“They’re making judgement 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,” Hegseth added.
“Good job,” Trump responded.
Hegseth initially did not make a specific reference to a Sept. 2 operation that The Washington Post reported Friday indicated the secretary gave an order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
When asked specifically about the Sept. 2 operation, Hegseth praised Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, who was overseeing it and the one to order the second strike that killed survivors.
“I wish everybody could be in the room watching our professionals, professionals like Adm. Frank Bradley and others,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth said he made the call on the first strike Sept. 2 and that he watched the first strike live, but did not stick around for the second strike and learned of it a couple of hours later.
“Adm. Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,” he said. “It was the right call. We have his back.”
The Post reported two survivors were left clinging to the wreckage following the initial strike, prompting the commander in charge to order a second to comply with Hegseth’s earlier order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that Hegseth authorized the Sept. 2 operation while emphasizing that it was Bradley who ordered the second strike that killed the survivors.
Bradley will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday to brief lawmakers, some of whom have expressed concern over the Post’s report and alleging the operation constituted being a war crime.
Updated at 2:28 p.m. EST
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