The White House on Monday defended a US admiral’s decision to carry out multiple strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel in September, saying he had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s authorization, even as critics questioned the legality of a strike on survivors.
The Washington Post reported that a second strike was ordered to kill two survivors from the initial strike and to comply with an order by Hegseth that everyone be killed. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would not have wanted a second strike and said Hegseth denied giving such an order.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Hegseth had authorized Admiral Frank Bradley to conduct the strikes on September 2. “Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt described the action as “self-defence” to protect US interests, said it took place in international waters, and argued it was consistent with the law of armed conflict. “This administration has designated these narco terrorists as foreign terrorist organizations,” she added.
Since September, the US military has carried out at least 19 strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of Latin America, killing at least 76 people. Critics have questioned the legality of the strikes, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have pledged to investigate.
International humanitarian law prohibits attacks on incapacitated combatants. The Defense Department’s Law of War Manual states that shipwrecked persons cannot be knowingly attacked and must receive medical care unless they act with hostility or attempt escape. George Washington University law professor Laura Dickinson said most legal experts do not view the boat strikes as armed conflict, meaning lethal force would be permitted only as a last resort. “It would be murder outside of armed conflict,” she said, adding that even in war the killing of survivors “would likely be a war crime.”
The JAGs Working Group, a group of former military lawyers, called the order “patently illegal,” saying service members have a duty to disobey it and that anyone who complies should be prosecuted for war crimes. On X, Hegseth defended Bradley, calling him “an American hero” and saying he has his “100% support,” and that he stands by Bradley’s combat decisions “on the September 2 mission and all others since.”
A senior US official said Trump on Monday discussed with top advisers the pressure campaign against Venezuela. Trump has flagged the possibility of US military intervention in Venezuela, saying the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety,” a comment that stirred anxiety in Caracas. He confirmed on Sunday that he had spoken to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but gave no details.
The administration has been weighing options to combat what it portrays as Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans; Maduro denies such links. Reuters reported US options under consideration include an effort to overthrow Maduro, and that the US military is poised for a new phase of operations after a major buildup in the Caribbean and nearly three months of strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela’s coast. Trump has also authorized covert CIA operations in the country.
