US EditionPressure Grows on Hegseth Amid Boat Strike Fallout
Sen. Van Hollen cited a Washington Post report that Defense Secretary Hegseth ordered killing all aboard a suspected drug boat, prompting congressional investigations.
- On Nov. 30, 2025, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said it's very possible a war crime was committed in the administration's first strike on an alleged drug‑trafficking boat in the Caribbean Sea during his ABC News' "This Week" appearance.
- The administration says the strikes are intentional 'lethal, kinetic strikes' aimed to stop drugs and destroy narco‑boats, with Hegseth posting on X that 'every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.'
- According to the Post, after an initial strike left survivors, the commander who ordered the reported second strike killed the two survivors from the initial strike aboard the suspected narco-boat, Washington Post reporting says.
- The House and Senate Armed Services committees have opened investigations into the reported incident while the Pentagon spokesperson said the Washington Post story's "entire narrative was false," and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the operations.
- Van Hollen noted that a war‑crime finding requires accepting the administration's armed conflict framing with drug gangs, while legal experts warn unlawful orders could trigger U.S. legal accountability mechanisms.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Did Pete Hegseth really commit a war crime?
Outrage is mounting in Washington over a 1 September US drone strike on a Tren de Aragua cartel vessel. The boat, carrying 11 people, was hit by a US missile while travelling from Venezuela to Trinidad. According to a Washington Post report on Friday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the military to kill everybody aboard the boat. After a first strike left two survivors, a senior US Admiral then ordered a second strike to eliminate them. …
'View' cohost Sara Haines compares Venezuela strikes to 'flat-out murder'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized other reporting on the strikes as "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory."ABC; Kiyoshi Ota/Pool - Getty Sara Haines on 'The View' and Sec. Pete HegsethKey PointsThe View cohosts discussed recent deadly strikes on Venezuelan boats accused of moving drugs.Sara Haines compared the move to "flat-out murder" on the talk show. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X that "the declared intent is to stop le…
Republican Rep. Stands By Pete Hegseth Over War Crime Accusations: 'I Smell a Rat'
Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez stood by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following a report claiming that he ordered that all members aboard an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean be killed, alleged actions that prompted Democrats to say he may have committed war crimes.
Sunday morning sedition: Kelly vows Senate probe over drug boat hoax · American Wire News
Democrats are calling for “accountability” for the Trump administration’s follow-up strike on a reported drug boat in the Caribbean. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who, along with fellow Democrats in a controversial video message, urged service members to refuse “illegal orders,” declared that military officials would be placed “under oath” in an investigation of the boat strike. “We’re going to have an investigation,” the Armed Services Committee memb…
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