Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized a lethal attack on a boat in the Caribbean on September 2nd but did not order the killing of any survivors. The strike campaign, which targets suspected drug smugglers at sea, has come under intense bipartisan scrutiny.
Officials stated that Hegseth directed the Special Operations commander to conduct kinetic strikes to destroy the boat and eliminate the threat it posed. His order focused on destroying the vessel and its cargo, not on what to do if survivors remained after the initial strike. The directive did not specifically address the situation of survivors, nor was it a response to footage indicating survivors existed after the first missile hit.