US authorised second Venezuela boat strike, White House says

The White House has confirmed that a senior US Navy commander has ordered a second round of military strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug ship.

“Admiral (Frank) Bradley worked well within his authority and the law when ordering the additional strike,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Monday.

Leavitt confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the attacks but did not order to “kill everyone.” Washington Post reported. It was reported that the second attack was made after two people survived the first explosion and clung to the burning ship.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the report and promised congressional review of the strikes.

“President (Donald) Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war,” Leavitt said at Monday’s press conference.

The press secretary would neither confirm that the two men survived the first attack nor that the second attack was intended to kill them.

Media reports that Hegseth had ordered the killing of all those on board during the September 2 attack have renewed concerns about the legality of US military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Hegseth pushed back, calling the report’s accusations “fabricated, inflammatory and insulting.” On Monday, he tweeted that Admiral Bradley “is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support.”

“I stand with him and the war decisions he has made on the 9/2 mission and since then.”

In recent weeks, the United States has expanded its military presence in the Caribbean, launching a series of deadly attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling in international waters off Venezuela and Colombia as part of what it calls a counter-narcotics operation.

More than 80 people have lost their lives in attacks since the beginning of September.

The Trump administration says it acted in self-defense by destroying boats carrying illegal drugs to the United States.

The attacks also significantly increased tensions with Venezuela. Trump has repeatedly said he is considering the deployment of US ground forces to the country.

They have also led to increased scrutiny among U.S. lawmakers.

Over the weekend, the Senate Armed Services Committee said it would “conduct rigorous oversight to determine the facts” about the strikes.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee’s Republican chairman, said Monday that lawmakers plan to meet with “the admiral in charge of the operation.” He also added that he was looking for audio and video to “see what the orders were.”

The Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives also said it would lead “bipartisan action to collect a full accounting of the operation in question.”

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group of top U.S. military officers, met with the armed services committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate over the weekend.

The group said discussions centered around operations in the region and “the purpose and legality of missions to disrupt illegal smuggling networks.”

Speaking to the BBC, several experts expressed serious doubts that the second attack on the alleged survivors could be considered legal under international law. Survivors may have been subject to the protections afforded to shipwrecked sailors or troops unable to continue fighting.

The Trump administration has said its operations in the Caribbean constitute a non-international armed conflict with alleged drug traffickers.

The rules for participation in such armed conflicts, as set out in the Geneva Conventions, prohibit targeting injured participants and instead state that these participants should be arrested and dealt with.

Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. military came under scrutiny for firing multiple rounds from drones, a practice known as “double strike” that sometimes resulted in civilian casualties.

On Sunday, Venezuela’s National Assembly condemned the boat attacks and vowed to conduct a “rigorous and comprehensive investigation” into the Sept. 2 attacks.

The Venezuelan government accused the United States of increasing tensions in the region with the aim of overthrowing the government.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight on Monday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Trump’s claims were motivated by “great jealousy” of the country’s natural resources.

He also called for direct dialogue between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments “to cleanse the toxic atmosphere we have witnessed since July of last year.”

On Sunday, Trump confirmed that he had a brief phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, during which he pressured him to resign and leave Venezuela with his family.

According to reports, during their meeting last month, Trump told Maduro that he could go to a place of his choice if he agreed to leave immediately. After his denial, Trump shared on social media that the airspace over Venezuela should be considered “completely closed.”

Maduro has requested amnesty for his top aides and asked that the military be allowed to maintain control after relinquishing the government. Trump rejected both requests, according to The Miami Post and Reuters, which the BBC has not confirmed.

US officials have alleged that Maduro himself is part of a “terrorist” organization called the Sun Cartel, which they say includes senior Venezuelan military and security officials involved in drug trafficking. Maduro denied the allegations.

With additional reporting by Lucy Gilder and Thomas Copeland