President Trump says he will look into reports of a follow-up US military strike that killed survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug vessel
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he would look into reports that the US military conducted a second strike on a boat in the Caribbean, killing survivors of an initial missile attack.
He stated he “wouldn’t have wanted” a follow-up strike on the vessel from the September 2 incident.
That operation was the first in a series of publicly acknowledged attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific aimed at combating drug trafficking.
The Washington Post reported that after an initial strike, US forces observed two survivors clinging to the burning boat and proceeded to strike it again.
Both The Washington Post and CNN reported troops received a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on board, citing unnamed sources.
“The order was to kill everybody,” one source told the Post.
Trump defended Hegseth while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“I’m going to find out about it, but Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said.
When asked if he would have wanted a second attempt to kill the survivors, Trump replied, “We’ll look into it, but no, I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.”
He added, “The first strike was very lethal.”
Hegseth has dismissed the reports as “fake news.”
US air strikes since September have targeted alleged drug-trafficking boats, killing at least 83 people.
The Trump administration has not provided concrete evidence to back the allegations behind the campaign.
Numerous experts have questioned the legality of the operations.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk has urged Washington to investigate, citing “strong evidence” the strikes constitute “extrajudicial” killings.
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said they were “taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation.”
Their Senate counterparts issued a similar statement late Friday.
Late Sunday, Hegseth posted a mock book cover on X featuring Franklin the Turtle shooting from a helicopter at boats.
“For your Christmas wish list,” he wrote. – AFP
