Hegseth says he didn't see survivors of scrutinized strike on alleged drug vessel
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on during a Cabinet Meeting hosted by President Trump at the White House on Dec. 2. Photo: Andrew Caballero / AFP via Getty Images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he did not personally see any survivors after the initial strike on a purported drug vessel that was later hit with a subsequent attack.
The big picture: Hegseth and administration allies have denied a report that the military conducted a follow-up strike on alleged "narco-terrorists" who survived an initial hit in compliance with a directive to leave no survivors. If substantiated, legal experts say, the orders could violate international law.
- The White House has defended the legality of the attack and the order they say was issued by Admiral Frank Bradley to "ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated."
- The strikes have killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, as international scrutiny grows over the legal grounds on which the administration is waging its pressure campaign against Venezuela.
Driving the news: Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting that he watched the first strike live but left before learning hours later that Bradley made the call to sink the boat.
- Pressed by a reporter, Hegseth said he did not "personally see survivors" on the burning vessel.
- "This is called the fog of war," he said before taking aim at journalists. "This is what you and the press don't understand."
State of play: There have been 21 kinetic strikes on alleged drug boats so far, and 82 people killed, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a news conference Tuesday.
- "Our operations in the SOUTHCOM region are lawful under both US and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict, these actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command," she said.
Friction point: The administration has remained adamant that the early September strike and those that followed are on steady legal ground, though some lawmakers have accused officials of leaving them in the dark.
- Multiple outlets have reported that the administration has justified the attacks by saying cartels are engaged in an armed conflict with the U.S., though some legal experts have disputed that conclusion.
- Hegseth on Tuesday compared the approach to targeting the vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific to missions to take out Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
What we're watching: The secretary also signaled during the Cabinet meeting, sitting beside the president, that the lethal attacks would continue.
- "We've only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean," he said.
Go deeper: Hegseth says U.S. has "only just begun" sinking alleged drug vessels
