Fox News turns on Trump over Caribbean boat strike survivor deaths | US | News
Fox News harshly criticized President Donald Trump for allegedly killing survivors of a boat attack in the Caribbean.
In a live broadcast of Fox News, Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume suggested that Trump administration officials should be held accountable if it is revealed that they ordered the killing of the survivors of the boat attack.
The United States launched an attack on a suspected drug boat off the coast of Trinidad on September 2.
A report published by the Washington Post on Friday, November 28, stated that anonymous sources familiar with the situation claimed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of everyone on board. It was reported that after the first attack of the navy, two survivors were clinging to the wreckage of the boat.
Admiral Frank Bradley reportedly viewed the pair as legitimate targets and therefore ordered Hegseth’s instructions to be carried out. The Navy then launched a second attack, killing any survivors.
The Trump administration has attacked boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific, but no evidence has been presented to support these claims. Even if the targeted boats were carrying illegal drugs, the legality of the attacks remained unclear, experts said.
During an appearance on Special Report on Monday, December 1, Hume explained that the real issue revolves around the intent behind the second attack. He stated: “This is what the purpose of the second attack was.
“Was it to destroy the remainder of the boat that was hit but not completely destroyed, or was it to destroy the survivors first? This would be an important issue if the goal was to eliminate the survivors.”
“If they were killed during the destruction of the rest of the boat, if the boat was intact enough to convince military personnel that the job was not completed, that’s a different matter.”
Legal experts have suggested that deliberately targeting survivors in a second attack would amount to a serious violation of international law.
Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force attorney and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, explained to PBS: “You can only use deadly force in situations where there is an imminent threat (like now) of life or really serious injury.”
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman noted in The New Republic that the Department of Defense’s Laws of War Manual prohibits “no quarter” declarations and prohibits the conduct of operations “on the grounds that there will be no survivors,” while also declaring that “persons are excluded from combat.” [out of the fight] cannot be made the target of attack.”
