"The Trump administration is standing by its controversial campaign of targeting and killing the crews of small boats that are allegedly smuggling drugs from South America to the U.S. But in the face of charges that these strikes amount to execution without trial, the White House is sending a confusing message about who exactly gave each order to use deadly force. The details matter as some in Congress suggest the orders are illegal and could leave servicemembers facing eventual prosecution."
"In response to reports that the first of these incidents included a second round of strikes that killed two survivors on a burning boat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he authorized and watched the initial attacks but did not watch the second round. "I watched that first strike live," Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "As you can imagine, the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do. So I moved on to my next meeting.""
The administration defends a campaign to target and kill crews of small boats accused of smuggling drugs from South America to the U.S. Allegations assert some strikes may amount to execution without trial and raise legal questions that could expose servicemembers to prosecution. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he authorized and viewed the initial Sept. 2 strike but did not watch subsequent strikes that reportedly killed survivors, attributing the later decision to Adm. Frank M. Bradley and calling it correct. Congressional critics, including Rep. Adam Smith, said Hegseth shifted blame, undermined leadership, and issued legally questionable orders, increasing oversight and accountability concerns.
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