An admiral from the U.S. navy informed lawmakers on Thursday that there was no directive from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill them all.” However, significant questions and concerns remain as Congress investigates an incident in international waters near Venezuela where two individuals were killed after surviving an initial attack on an alleged drug boat.
Senator Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, stated that Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley explicitly denied receiving any order to show no mercy or to eliminate all individuals. Cotton mentioned that Bradley had received a detailed order that was not of such nature after a classified briefing in Washington, D.C.
Lawmakers leading the House and Senate intelligence committees left with differing accounts of the activities of the two survivors at the time they were killed.
Cotton observed that the survivors were attempting to overturn a boat carrying drugs destined for the United States to continue the conflict.
He noted a gap of “several minutes” between the initial and subsequent attacks, comprising four missile strikes. Cotton expressed satisfaction that the U.S. military was engaging with drug cartels in combat.
Meanwhile, Democrats present at the briefing and who viewed the video footage of the survivors being killed raised doubts about the Trump administration’s justification and expressed deep concern over the incident.
Connecticut Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, described the scene as deeply troubling, with two distressed individuals without means of movement being killed by the U.S.
Washington state Representative Adam Smith, the top House armed services committee Democrat, criticized the order to destroy the drugs and kill the 11 individuals on the boat. Smith emphasized that the survivors were two individuals without shirts clinging to a capsized and inoperable boat adrift in the water.
Smith acknowledged the likely presence of cocaine on the boat but objected to the broad definition used by the Republican administration to justify ongoing attacks on suspected drug traffickers, potentially heading to the U.S. He asserted that this broad definition was at the core of the issues surrounding the use of lethal force and military actions.
Most lawmakers present at the briefings, including senators, refrained from commenting as they departed.
Accompanying Admiral Bradley at the Capitol was Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for critical sessions amidst the congressional investigation into Hegseth’s handling of the military operation near Venezuela.
WATCH | Serious questions about legality of any strikes, says ex-State Dept. official:
