The White House has confirmed that a senior US Navy commander gave the order to launch a second round of missile strikes on a suspected Venezuelan drug boat. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Monday that Admiral (Frank) Bradley ordered the extra strike “well within his authority and the law.
Leavitt confirmed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strikes but did not provide an order to “kill everybody”, as the Washington Post claimed. Two passengers were said to have survived the first explosion and were clinging to the burning vessel when the second strike was carried out. The news has alarmed both Democratic and Republican politicians, who have promised to study the strikes in Congress.
President (Donald) Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it plain that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to deadly targeting in accordance with the laws of war,” Leavitt stated during the Monday news briefing. The press secretary did not disclose that the second attack was meant to murder the two survivors from the first hit.
Media allegations that Hegseth had instructed to kill all persons on board the vessel during the 2 September strike have revived doubts about the legality of US military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
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