Hegseth says U.S. has "only just begun" sinking alleged drug vessels

""We've only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they've been poisoning the American people," Hegseth said from the president's side. But "it's hard to find boats to strike right now," he said to laughter in the room, adding that "deterrence has to matter - not arrest and hand over and then do it again.""

"State of play: The strikes have killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The Defense Department's Law of War Manual uses shooting shipwrecked survivors as an example of an illegal order that service members are obligated to refuse. The manual also states that those "who have been incapacitated by wounds, sickness, or shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack.""

Hegseth authorized a Navy admiral to conduct strikes on narco-boats, which the administration asserts fell within his authority and the bounds of the law. Hegseth framed the campaign as sinking narco-boats and eliminating narco-terrorists responsible for poisoning Americans while emphasizing deterrence over repeated arrests. The strikes have killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Reports allege Hegseth issued a directive to kill everyone on a suspected drug boat and ordered a lethal strike ahead of the Sept. 2 attack; Hegseth denies the first allegation and endorsed Admiral Mitch Bradley's combat decisions. The Defense Department Law of War Manual treats shooting shipwrecked survivors as an illegal order.

Read at Axios