The Trump administration is facing a political and legal firestorm over reports that the military launched a second attack on a Caribbean boat that Washington says was carrying drugs after two people survived the first attack.
Two questions are at the heart of the controversy. Who ordered the second strike on boats in September, and was it legal?
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Here’s what we know:
what happened?
On September 2, 2025, the U.S. military crashed a boat in the Caribbean Sea during Operation Southern Spear. Operation Southern Spear is a large-scale operation that President Donald Trump’s administration says is aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks.
The first attack destroyed the ship and killed nine people. Two survivors were left clinging to the rubble.
According to the Washington Post, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave verbal instructions, which reports said were orders to “kill everyone.”
The mission’s commander, Admiral Frank Bradley, then ordered a second attack, killing the two survivors.
Experts say the second attack (known in military parlance as a “double tap” attack) is illegal. The airstrike has drawn criticism not only from Democrats but also from several congressional Republicans who have vowed to lead an investigation into what happened.
The Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday announced plans to ensure “oversight” over the airstrikes. “The committee is aware of recent reports and the Department of Defense’s initial response regarding the alleged pursuit of a suspected drug vessel in SOUTHCOM’s waters,” the committee’s chairs, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, said in a statement. “The committee has directed the department to investigate and will conduct vigorous monitoring to ascertain the facts related to these situations,” they said.
Separately, the House Armed Services Committee said it was seeking “a complete clarification of the operation in question.”
A parliamentary committee is seeking audio recordings and other evidence to piece together how the order was given.
So far, more than 80 people have been killed and more than 20 boats have been targeted in widespread US operations in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean.
What did Pete Hegseth say?
Hegseth called the report “fake news” on social media and said the boat attack “complies with the laws of armed conflict and was approved by the highest military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command.”
However, he also appeared to justify the two attacks.
“The declared intent is to interdict deadly drugs, destroy drug ships, and kill narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said in a social media post Friday night. “The traffickers we killed all belong to designated terrorist organizations.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration officially designated the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua as a terrorist group. He also accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles. US officials describe the Cartel de los Soles as a drug smuggling network involving senior government and military officials.
In reality, Cartel de los Soros is not a cartel at all, but just a broad term that Venezuelans use to refer to corrupt officials. And the U.S. government’s Drug Enforcement Administration cites other countries, not Venezuela, as the main source of drugs entering the United States. President Trump has repeatedly claimed that Torren de Aragua is a Maduro frontman, but his own intelligence agency has concluded there is no connection between the gang and the Venezuelan president.
As usual, fake news delivers more fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory reports to discredit our great warriors who are fighting to protect our country.
As we have said from the beginning and in every statement, these highly effective attacks specifically…
— Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 28, 2025
Are Trump and the White House contradicting each other?
On Sunday, President Trump answered questions aboard Air Force One and said his administration would “look into” reports of a second attack on the boat on Sept. 2.
But he added: “I didn’t want that. It wasn’t a second attack.”
He said Hegseth told him: “I did not order those two people to be killed.”
In approximately 20 subsequent boat attacks, the U.S. military assisted in several cases in rescuing survivors and repatriated them to their home countries.
However, in contrast to President Trump’s statement, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt echoed Hegseth in justifying the second attack on September 2nd.
“The airstrike that took place on September 2 was carried out in self-defense to protect the American people and the vital interests of the United States. The airstrike was carried out on the high seas and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict,” she said in response to questions from reporters Monday evening.
So who authorized the strike?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized multiple attacks in September that killed 11 people on a Venezuelan ship allegedly carrying illegal drugs, the White House announced https://t.co/panDtNSmVQ pic.twitter.com/pMJkyAvt2E
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 2, 2025
According to the White House, Mr. Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to carry out the Sept. 2 “strike,” suggesting that the defense secretary had authorized the mission commander to carry out multiple attacks on the boat if necessary.
“Secretary Hegseth has authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic attacks,” Levitt said at a media conference Monday.
But the actual decision to carry out the second attack was made by Bradley, Levitt said.
“Admiral Bradley acted well within his authority and within the law, leading the engagement to destroy the boat and completely eliminate the narco-terrorist threat to the United States,” she said.
Why does it matter who ordered it?
Experts say the second attack, which killed the survivors, was illegal.
“Instead of due process and criminal prosecution, the Trump administration decided to be judge, jury and executioner, and based on its own claims that these individuals possessed drugs and ordered the killings, it was an extrajudicial killing, a murder,” Rachel VanLandingham, a military expert at Southwestern Law School, told Al Jazeera.
“A second attack on people who are shipwrecked and clinging desperately to the side of the wreckage of the boat, this is a war crime. Those who are shipwrecked have a protected status under the law unless, for example, they fire a gun at someone. But otherwise they are protected,” she added.
Legally, the United States can only use force if there is a real threat, so identifying the decision-makers is key to determining whether the attack followed the rules, experts said.
