The White House has confirmed that a senior US Navy commander authorised a second strike on a burning vessel suspected of drug smuggling near Venezuela, intensifying debate in Washington over the legality of the United States’ expanding military operations in the Caribbean.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Admiral Frank Bradley acted “well within his authority and the law” when he ordered an additional strike during the 2 September operation.
Media reports indicate that the second attack occurred after two people survived the initial blast and were clinging to the wreckage, though Leavitt declined to confirm whether survivors were present or targeted.
She also dismissed reporting that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had instructed forces to “kill everybody,” saying he authorised the mission but issued no such order.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have demanded full oversight reviews, with the Senate and House Armed Services Committees launching parallel investigations.
Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate panel, said legislators planned to interview Admiral Bradley and secure audio and video from the operation “to see what the orders were.”
The Trump administration has escalated maritime operations in recent months, conducting lethal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in international waters off Venezuela and Colombia.
More than 80 people have been killed since early September. Officials say the actions are lawful measures of self-defence against narco-terrorist networks designated as legitimate military targets by President Donald Trump.
But legal experts interviewed by the BBC have questioned whether the second strike complied with international humanitarian law, noting that survivors of a naval attack may qualify for protections granted to shipwrecked individuals or combatants rendered incapable of fighting.
Under the Geneva Conventions, participants in a non-international armed conflict,such as the one the US claims it is waging against drug traffickers, cannot lawfully target wounded opponents who are hors de combat.
Hegseth has forcefully rejected allegations that he ordered unlawful conduct, calling the claims “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.”
In a statement on social media, he praised Bradley as “an American hero” and expressed “100% support” for his operational decisions.
The strikes have further inflamed tensions with Venezuela, already strained after Trump repeatedly threatened the deployment of US ground forces. Caracas has accused Washington of using anti-narcotics operations as a pretext to destabilise President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Venezuela’s National Assembly has condemned the 2 September attack and promised its own investigation.
In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab accused Trump of harbouring “envy” over Venezuela’s natural resources and urged renewed dialogue to reduce what he called a “toxic atmosphere.”
Diplomatic friction escalated further on Sunday when Trump confirmed he had pressed Maduro in a recent phone call to resign and leave the country.
Reports suggest Trump offered safe passage abroad on condition that Maduro step down immediately, terms the Venezuelan leader rejected. Maduro allegedly sought amnesty for senior officials and continued control over the military, demands Trump refused to consider.
US officials have long accused Maduro of involvement in the so-called Cartel of the Suns, a network of Venezuelan military and security figures allegedly tied to drug trafficking. Maduro denies the claims, calling them politically motivated.
As congressional inquiries proceed and concerns mount over the legality of “double tap” strikes, tactics controversial since their use in previous administrations, the administration faces growing pressure to justify the expanding mission.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff met with both armed services committees over the weekend to discuss the “intent and legality” of US operations in the Caribbean, signalling that the fallout from the 2 September incident is far from over.
Source: BBC
Written By Rodney Mbua
