Hegseth won’t let public see full video of second strike on alleged drug boat
The American public will not see a full video of a controversial second strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday. Hegseth announced the decision as he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to congressional leaders about recent military actions in the eastern Pacific.
Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the second strike on the alleged traffickers on Sept. 23, with some saying it could be classified as a war crime. However, during a briefing on Tuesday, Rubio and Hegseth defended the administration’s actions.
They spoke a day after the Defense Department announced its latest strike targeting alleged fentanyl traffickers. Officials said military strikes destroyed three boats and killed eight people. A total of 95 people have died in strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats since September.
What did officials say during the hearing?
The closed-door briefing largely covered the controversial second strike from September, according to The Associated Press. Previously, President Donald Trump had argued the strike was justified because the survivors tried to overturn the boat. Other Republicans have said this shows the people were trying to stay in the fight instead of surrendering.
Lawmakers have asked to see the full video of the strike since learning the details of the attack. Hegseth said he would release the video to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Wednesday. The Department of Defense would also release commentary from Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who oversaw the strikes.
However, Hegseth said the video would remain classified and would not be released to the public.
“Of course we’re not going to release a top secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth said as he left the briefing.
Rubio said the administration was “proud” of its efforts to fight drug trafficking. He said the 22 strikes the U.S. has carried out so far had been “highly successful” and would continue.
“We’ll continue to engage with Congress on this,” he said.
Bradley, who ordered the strike, privately admitted the survivors’ effort to right the boat was unlikely to succeed, the AP reported. According to Bradley, the two people climbed onto the overturned boat and then began waving. Bradley said the two made no calls for backup or assistance.
Bradley said he consulted a military attorney before ordering the second strike. He said he believed the hull of the boat contained drugs and the mission was to make sure they were destroyed, so the second strike was justified.
What is the latest on the strikes?
The U.S. has recently scaled up its military presence near Venezuela and intensified attempts to destroy boats allegedly transporting drugs toward the United States. On Monday, Trump designated fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction,” claiming 200,000 to 300,000 Americans die from overdoses of the drug each year. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 73,690 people died from fentanyl overdoses in the 12 months that ended April 30, a drop of almost 25% from the previous year.
“With this historic executive order, we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is,” Trump said. “No bomb does what this has done.”
The U.S. ramped up tensions off Venezuela on Dec. 11, when the military seized a tanker that was allegedly carrying sanctioned crude oil in international waters. Venezuela categorically denounced the seizure, calling it “a barefaced robbery and an act of international piracy.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Washington of using sanctions and maritime interdictions to “steal” Venezuelan crude and destabilize its economy. It’s a claim U.S. officials reject.
Calls of sedition
As the strikes on alleged drug boats intensified, six congressional Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds posted a video in November reminding service members they had an obligation to disobey illegal orders. The video prompted Trump to accuse those lawmakers of sedition, claiming that “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” is “punishable by DEATH!”
The FBI began investigating the six lawmakers. Hegseth also threatened Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., with a court-martial. On Monday night, The Washington Post reported that Hegseth has escalated the investigation of Kelly.
Kelly said this was an attempt to silence him, or any service member, from speaking out against Trump.
“This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees — do not speak out against this president or there will be consequences,” Kelly said.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
