U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers from the Trump administration concerning military strikes on suspected narcotics-carrying Venezuelan ships, following a report claiming a subsequent strike was ordered to kill the remaining survivors of the initial attack.
The Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee, along with support from the House Armed Services Committee, has promised to perform “vigorous oversight” into the attacks that took place in the Caribbean in response to the report.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that on 2 September, a US strike on a Venezuelan vessel left two survivors, but that a subsequent attack was performed in accordance with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s commands to “kill everybody” on board.
In response to this report, Hegseth claimed it was "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.” via X, and was backed up by President Donald Trump on Sunday, claiming that he “100%” believed the secretary’s response.
Over the past few weeks, military expansion has increased by the US along the Caribbean. The U.S. has used this increase to perform several lethal strikes on suspected narcotics-trafficking vessels across international waters off Venezuela and Colombia. The U.S.’s actions are described to be a part of an anti-narcotics sting.
Since early September, over 80 individuals have been killed.
The Trump administration has expressed that these actions are taken in self-defense, as it aims to prevent drug trafficking into the U.S. via the destruction of these ships.
The Washington Post’s report, which is unconfirmed at the time of writing, wrote that Hegseth “gave a spoken directive” to “kill everybody” on board a targeted ship, and a Special Operations commander in charge of the operation “ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s Instructions.”
The orders given by Hegseth and the second attack on the ship have raised new questions about the legality of the acts.
As expressed by the rules of engagement in armed conflicts according to the Geneva Conventions, the targeting of wounded parties is forbidden, with survivors having to be apprehended and attended to.
Although the U.S.is not a signatory to the Law of the Sea by the United Nations Convention, U.S. military advisers have previously stated that the US should “act in a manner consistent with its provisions.”
