President Donald Trump is defending a controversial U.S. strike on a suspected drug boat while insisting he didn’t know about a second missile that killed survivors. At the same time, he’s signaling the campaign could soon expand from the sea to targets inside Venezuela.
Trump: I didn’t know about the second strike
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he was not told the military had hit the suspected smuggling boat a second time after an initial strike in the Caribbean on Sept. 2.
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“Somebody asked me a question about the second strike. I didn’t know about the second strike.” Trump continued, “I didn’t know anything about people. I wasn’t involved in it. I knew they took out a boat.”
The White House has said Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, gave the order for the follow-up strike. According to earlier reporting in The Washington Post, two survivors from the first hit were left clinging to the wreckage before the second missile was launched.
The administration says the mission was part of a broader campaign that has carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The strikes have killed at least 83 people that U.S. officials describe as “narco-terrorists.”
Hegseth backs the admiral: ‘He sunk the boat’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s claim that he didn’t know about the second strike in real time. He told reporters he watched only the first hit on the suspected trafficking vessel.
“I watched that first strike live… so I moved on to my next meeting,” Hegseth said. He added that he learned “a couple of hours later” that Bradley had decided to strike again.
Even so, Hegseth strongly defended the admiral’s call:
“He sunk the boat and eliminated the threat. And it was the right call,” Hegseth said. “We have his back, and the American people are safer because narco-terrorists know you can’t bring drugs through the water… We will eliminate that threat, and we’re proud to do it.”
The operation is now under review on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in both parties are asking whether deliberately targeting survivors could violate the laws of war. Bradley is expected to brief key House and Senate Armed Services members in a classified session later this week.
Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, is among those pushing for a public airing.
“If Hegseth believes his actions were lawful, he should not be afraid to explain himself to Congress in full view of the nation, instead of burying this potentially criminal activity in closed-door meetings,” Garamendi said in a statement.
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Trump signals next step: strikes ‘on land too’
Despite the scrutiny, Trump used the same Cabinet meeting to tout the maritime campaign and preview what could be a major escalation.
He claimed the boat strikes have already knocked out “over ninety percent” of drug flows by sea and “saved hundreds of thousands of lives.” Then he made clear he wants to take the fight ashore, starting in Venezuela but potentially beyond.
“I want those boats taken out, and if we have to, we’ll attack on land also, just like we attack on sea,” Trump said. “And we are going to start doing those strikes on land, too…We’re gonna start that very soon, too.”
Trump also suggested that anyone moving drugs into the United States, not just in Venezuela, could be “subject to attack.” The comments are raising new questions about how far this campaign could extend, and how much legal and political blowback the administration is prepared to absorb.
