Trump backs Hegseth after report claims war secretary ordered no survivors in drug boat strike: ‘I believe him’
During a brief on Air Force One this past Sunday, President Trump denied a claim that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had ordered that no one survive a U.S. air strike on a suspected drug‑smuggling vessel in the Caribbean in September. “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump told reporters on the flight back to Washington from his Mar‑a‑Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. “And I believe him.”
The Washington Post reported last Friday that a Joint Special Operations Command commander had given the order for a second strike on a speedboat carrying 11 suspected Tren de Aragua narcotraffickers on Sept. 2, after the first attack left two people clinging to the wreckage. The second strike, the report said, was carried out in response to Hegseth’s verbal instruction to “kill everybody” on board.
Trump stressed that he would not have wanted a follow‑up strike and pledged that the administration would investigate the matter while defending Hegseth. “He said he did not say that,” the president reiterated, “and I believe him, 100 %.”
Hegseth denied the allegation within hours of the Story’s release, writing on X: “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.” He added: “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco‑boats, and kill the narco‑terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
The Washington Post’s coverage sparked bipartisan alarm on Capitol Hill, with members of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees announcing plans to open inquiries. House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Mike Turner (R‑Ohio) told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that if the claim were true it would be a serious, potentially illegal act. Sen. Tim Kaine (D‑Va.), also on the program, said he would re‑introduce a resolution to bar U.S. military force in the Caribbean without congressional approval—an effort that Senate Republicans stymied on Nov. 6. He warned that, should Hegseth’s order be verified, it would violate the Department of Defense’s own rules of war and international law, potentially amounting to a war crime.
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