Trump: Hegseth did not order the killing of the boat crew in the Caribbean, and I have complete confidence in him
US President Donald Trump confirmed that he is fully confident that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not issue any verbal order to kill all the crew members of a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea last September, adding: “He told me that he did not say that, and I believe him 100 percent.”
The Washington Post reported: The American newspaper quoted Trump as saying to reporters: “I will look into the matter.” I didn’t want that. I didn’t want a second strike. The first strike was very lethal and it was enough.”
After the newspaper’s report was published about Hegseth issuing an order to kill the survivors of the first strike, Hegseth wrote on the “X” website, “These highly effective strikes are designed to be lethal and kinetic strikes,” adding: “Every drug dealer we kill is linked to a terrorist organization.” Classified". Regarding the way to deal with naval strikes in the Caribbean, praising the amazing work being done by the American forces.
He added: “Look at the numbers, the amount of drugs entering our country by sea is small compared to what it was several months ago.”
Trump linked these strikes to the spread of fentanyl, even though the majority of the targeted drugs were cocaine, and most of them were heading away from the coast The Trump administration justified these operations and its ongoing campaign in the Caribbean, which resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people, by saying that the United States was in a non-international armed conflict with drug smugglers, according to the newspaper.
The boat targeted, on September 2, in the first attack within the Trump administration’s campaign against drug smugglers in the Western Hemisphere, contained 11 crew members, as A live drone broadcast showed two crew members still alive, clinging to the wreckage of the boat after the first missile strike, according to a Washington Post report.
According to two sources familiar with the operation, the special operations commander supervising the mission launched a second strike that killed the survivors, on Monday, in order to comply with a verbal order allegedly issued by Hegseth. The two sources, along with five others in the original report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The newspaper’s report sparked reactions in Congress, with lawmakers from both parties calling for a review of the September strikes. The bipartisan group said they would compile a full account of the operation.
Senator Tim Kaine (D – Virginia) said: “If the reports are true, this is a clear violation of the Pentagon’s laws of war, as well as international laws regarding how people are treated in such circumstances.”
He continued on “Face the Nation.” of the CBS network American: “If these reports are true, the matter amounts to a war crime.”
Rep. Michael R. added: Turner (R – Ohio) on the same show: “Obviously it would be a very dangerous thing for that to happen, and I agree it’s illegal.” Turner pointed out that the White House did not provide Congress with any information confirming the Washington Post report. And the legal justifications for the strikes.
In a rare warning, the two senators wrote that the Defense Department had exceeded the legal time period to provide some of this material, which would clarify the original order issued by Hegseth in September.
Some current and former US officials, as well as experts on the laws of war, stressed that the Pentagon’s campaign is illegal, and may expose the direct participants to legal prosecution, because the smugglers The alleged persons did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, and are not a party to an armed conflict with it.
In a statement issued by a group of military lawyers and former commanders, which has monitored the Trump administration’s military activities in Latin America, the group stressed that targeting incapacitated persons is prohibited, whether the United States is in an armed conflict, conducting law enforcement, or other military operations.
The group said: “Under the circumstances reported by the Washington Post, international law not only prohibits the targeting of these survivors, but also requires the attacking force to protect and rescue them, and, if necessary, treat them as prisoners of war.”
The statement added: “Any violation of these obligations constitutes a war crime, murder, or both. There are no other options.".
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