White House stands behind Hegseth’s ‘kill everybody’ order against boat sailing in Caribbean
The White House has rallied behind War Secretary Pete Hegseth as he faces mounting controversy over ordering US forces to “kill everybody” on board a boat in the Caribbean, and authorizing a second lethal strike on the same vessel as it was burning and people were clinging onto it.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the remarks at a Monday press briefing, commenting on the dual attacks on September 2, the second one of which has prompted lawmakers from both major parties to raise alarm about a potential breach of the laws of armed conflict.
“The president has the right to take them out if they are threatening the United States,” Leavitt said, referring to groups labeled by Washington as “narcoterrorists.”
She insisted that the operation was conducted “within authority and the law” under the administration’s maritime “counternarcotics campaign.”
Leavitt confirmed that Hegseth granted approval to Adm. Frank Bradley for the follow-up strike, which, according to reporting by The Washington Post, killed two people who were clinging to the charred vessel after an initial US aerial attack had left the craft ablaze.
In rare bipartisan alignment, some members of the US Congress pointed to the gravity of allegations arising from the controversy, saying the second attack could amount to war crimes.
US officials have, meanwhile, stopped short of clarifying the identities of those killed, nor have released visual or forensic evidence from the incidents.
The attacks and ongoing heavy military buildup in the Caribbean under the pretext of fighting drug smuggling come amid Washington’s mounting pressure targeting several Latin American nations, most importantly Venezuela and Colombia.
Recently, President Donald Trump went as far as calling the Venezuelan airspace “closed,” a move that prompted airlines and carriers to avoid the country’s skies for fear of coming under surprise US military aggression.
The Venezuelan government has denounced Washington for “weaponizing the counter-drug rhetoric to legitimize killings without trial."
Caracas has warned that the strikes have broader implications for regional stability, especially near maritime routes that touch Venezuela’s strategic perimeter.
Maduro says US ‘cannot defeat invincible’ Venezuela amid deepening tensions https://t.co/VtuSg8EsCF
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The lethal targeting has killed at least 83 people since the campaign began.
No independent regional security body has verified the justifiability of the attacks, and few cases have been accompanied by public evidence or judicial review.
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