White House denies report U.S. ordered ‘second strike’ on already bombed alleged cartel boats

Lawmakers from both U.S. parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of military strikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report — which Hegseth called “fake news” — was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

“This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia.

“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote.

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday evening said the administration “will look into” the matter, adding, “I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” The president also defended Hegseth.

“Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said. “And I believe him.”

Republican concerned ‘illegal act’ committed

Republican Rep. Mike Turner, of Ohio, when asked about a followup strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the armed services committees in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.

Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the allegation regarding the Sept. 2 attack “is completely outside anything that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation.”

The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S.

On Saturday, Trump said the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro’s government accused Trump of making a “colonial threat” and seeking to undermine the South American country’s sovereignty.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, chair of the Senate armed services committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late Friday that the committee “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

That was followed Saturday with the chair of the House armed services committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, of Alabama, and ranking Democratic member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a joint statement saying the panel was committed to “providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defence’s military operations in the Caribbean.”

“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” Rogers and Smith said, referring to U.S. Southern Command.

Rep. Don Bacon, of Nebraska, when asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth deserves a chance to present his side.

“We should get to the truth. I don’t think he would be foolish enough to make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors. Because that’s a clear violation of the law of war,” Bacon said. “So I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that, because it would go against common sense.”

After the Post’s report, Hegseth said Friday on X that “fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.”

Trump says he spoke with Maduro

Also on Sunday, Trump confirmed that he had recently spoken with Maduro.

The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.

Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first reported by the New York Times.

“I wouldn’t say it went well or badly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked about the call.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the call with Trump.