White House says admiral ordered follow-up strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

WASHINGTON AP The White House announced Monday that a Navy admiral acted within his authority and the law when he ordered a second follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in a September U S military operation that has come under bipartisan scrutiny White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered the justification for the Sept strike after lawmakers from both parties on Sunday stated sponsorship for congressional reviews of U S military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean The lawmakers cited a published statement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for a second strike that killed survivors on the boat in that September situation Leavitt in her comments to reporters did not dispute a Washington Post record that there were survivors after the initial strike in the matter Her explanation came after President Donald Trump a day earlier stated that he wouldn t have sought that not a second strike when urged about the event Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes stated Leavitt referring to U S Navy Vice Admiral Frank Bradley who at the time was the commander of Joint Special Operations Command Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated The lawmakers explained they did not know whether last week s Post overview was true and specific Republicans were skeptical Still they reported the reports of attacking survivors of an initial missile strike posed serious legal concerns and merited further scrutiny The White House weighed in after Trump on Sunday vigorously defended Hegseth Pete revealed he did not order the death of those two men Trump revealed He added And I believe him Leavitt mentioned Hegseth has spoken with members of Congress who may have expressed specific concerns about the reports over the weekend Gen Dan Caine chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also spoke over the weekend with the four bipartisan lawmakers leading the Senate and House Armed Services Committees He reiterated his trust and confidence in the experienced commanders at every echelon Caine s office mentioned in a declaration The announcement added that the call focused on addressing the intent and legality of missions to disrupt illicit trafficking networks which threaten the precaution and stability of the Western Hemisphere Congress wants answers Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday broadly defended the operations echoing the Trump administration position that they re necessary to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States Thune revealed the committees in Congress will conduct oversight looking into what happened I don t think you want to draw any conclusions or deductions until you have all the facts he reported of the Sept strike We ll see where they lead After the Post s statement Hegseth revealed Friday on X that fake news is delivering more fabricated inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland 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 Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Hegseth a national embarrassment over his response to critics Schumer added that the armed services committees should demand that Hegseth release the video of the strike and testify under oath about what happened Sen Jack Reed the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee announced the panel s inquiry would start with briefings about what genuinely happened from the functionaries involved Reed also called for the administration to release unredacted video of the strike If they ve done nothing wrong then that video should exonerate them totally Why don t they release it he urged Sen Roger Wicker the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee pledged that his inquiry would be done by the numbers We ll find out the ground truth he announced adding that the ramifications of the overview were serious charges Venezuela s president reacts Trump met later Monday with his national precaution unit to discuss the ongoing operations and foreseen next initiatives against Venezuela The U S administration says the strikes are aimed at drug cartels chosen of which it proposes are controlled by Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro Trump also is weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland Trump endorsed Sunday that he had lately spoken by phone with Maduro but declined to detail the conversation Speaking to supporters in Caracas on Monday Maduro announced U S pressure has tested the country but Venezuelans are ready to defend it and lead it to the path of peace We have lived through weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism Maduro explained The September strike was one in a series carried out by the U S military in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as Trump has ordered the buildup of a fleet of warships near Venezuela including the largest U S aircraft carrier More than have been killed the strikes on small boats that the Trump administration alleges smuggle narcotics for drug cartels Venezuela s National Assembly has communicated the launch of an research into the lethal strikes carried about by the U S Sunday s announcement by the Assembly s president Jorge Rodr guez marked the first time that a Maduro regime official explicitly acknowledged that Venezuelans have been killed in the monthslong U S military operation Rodr guez Maduro s chief negotiator mentioned a group of lawmakers will come together to investigate the serious events that led to the murder of Venezuelans in the waters of the Caribbean Sea