The U.S. military is facing intensifying legal and political scrutiny after sources revealed that a second strike was carried out on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean on September 2, killing survivors of an earlier attack.
The follow-up strike, which brought the total death toll to 11, marked the beginning of a series of lethal operations targeting alleged narcotics boats across the region.
According to individuals familiar with the operation, the initial strike disabled the vessel and caused multiple deaths, but military assessments indicated that some crew members had survived. A second strike was then launched, killing the remaining survivors and sinking the boat.
The operation had been authorised under guidance from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who reportedly instructed commanders to ensure the strike killed everyone on board. It remains unclear whether he was informed that survivors were still alive before the second attack.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, after a meeting of NATO defence ministers at the alliance’s headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, on October 15, 2025. Yves Herman/Reuters
President Donald Trump publicly announced the September 2 strike on the day it occurred but did not disclose that survivors had been deliberately targeted.
On Thursday, he signalled that U.S. action against suspected trafficking networks in Venezuela “could start very soon,” even as questions grow about the legality of the broader military campaign.
Members of Congress say they were never consulted about the operations. Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean said she found no evidence in classified documents to justify the killings, describing the attacks as the “murder of the people on those boats.”
Legal experts warn the second strike may violate the laws of armed conflict, which prohibit killing individuals who are hors de combat, meaning injured, surrendered, or otherwise unable to fight.
Sarah Harrison, a former Pentagon lawyer now with the Crisis Group, said the strike was unlawful whether the victims were civilians or treated as combatants. “If somebody is no longer able to fight, they have to be treated humanely,” she said.
The Intercept and The Washington Post first reported the details of the “double-tap” strike. In response, Hegseth defended the campaign on Friday, insisting the operations comply with U.S. and international law and claiming that “every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
Pentagon officials later told lawmakers that the second strike was conducted to ensure the damaged vessel did not pose a navigation hazard.
However, sources acknowledged that the September 2 incident is the only known case in which survivors were deliberately killed. In at least one later strike in October, surviving crew members were rescued and repatriated.
The Trump administration has sought to justify the campaign by arguing that two dozen cartels pose an imminent threat to Americans. A classified Justice Department opinion concluded that the president has authority to authorize lethal force in self-defense against these groups.
But critics point out that many targeted boats were fleeing, not approaching U.S. forces, and survivors often posed no immediate threat.
The legality of the operations has also caused friction within the Pentagon and among U.S. allies. Adm. Alvin Holsey, the head of U.S. Southern Command, reportedly offered to resign after challenging the legality of the strikes.
Lawyers inside the Department of Defense have raised similar objections, and the United Kingdom has stopped sharing intelligence on suspected trafficking vessels to avoid involvement in the operations.
With questions mounting, the administration continues to insist that its actions are lawful, even as lawmakers, military officials, and international partners express deep concern about what appears to be a significant shift from law-enforcement-led counter-narcotics efforts to lethal military strikes in the Caribbean.
Source: CNN
Written By Rodney Mbua
