Trump officials say second strike aimed to destroy suspected drug boat instead of crew | Trump administration
Trump administration officials defended a follow-up attack on a drug ship that killed the survivors on September 2, arguing that its purpose was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat; this was an action the Pentagon had internal legal approval to carry out.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Monday that Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation and gave the order for the second attack, gave the order to sink the boat.
“Chief Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the response to ensure the destruction of the boat and elimination of the threat to the United States,” Leavitt said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said for the first time at a cabinet meeting Tuesday that the second attack “sinked the boat and eliminated the threat,” even as he tried to downplay his own involvement.
By framing the attacks as specifically targeting the boat—echoing language from a secret Justice Department office of legal counsel (OLC) memo celebrating the attacks—authorities technically put the attack on the firmest legal footing since questions about the incident arose.
The OLC memo says the U.S. is allowed to use lethal force against unflagged ships carrying cocaine because the cartels use the proceeds to fund violence, according to three attorneys directly familiar with the matter.
The rationale is that the cartels are in a so-called “armed conflict” with their allies in the region, and as part of collective self-defense, the United States could destroy the boats of cocaine in order to cut off the supply of money the cartels use to buy weapons.
And perhaps most importantly for the administration, the OLC memo states that the fact that anyone on board would likely die as a result of an attack does not make a boat an inappropriate military target, the Guardian previously reported.
The legal analysis is based on U.S. intelligence community findings included in a classified “statement of facts” appendix to the OLC opinion and the July 25 National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) on the use of military force against drug cartels.
Although details have not been made public because the previously unreported documents are confidential, they are said to contain detailed details, including allegations that each drug boat was carrying approximately $50 million worth of cocaine.
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The OLC memo was roundly criticized by outside legal experts because of little public evidence supporting the idea that cartels use drugs to finance gun violence.
Still, the Trump administration’s statement fits within the confines of the OLC memo and provides a plausible legal justification it can rely on to avoid any potential congressional or criminal investigation amid calls for further scrutiny by lawmakers.
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It’s also likely to be echoed by Bradley, a longtime operator who served as U.S. special operations command as a three-star admiral and who appeared Thursday morning before top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate armed services committees.
Until this week, Hegseth had been rambling on about the intent behind the second attack. At various points he suggested that it was permissible to kill people outright as long as they were connected to the cartels.
“Every smuggler we killed was affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” Hegseth said. An X post on Friday trying to deflect something Washington Post report He ordered the killing of the survivors of a boat attack.
Hegseth then doubled down and parody book cover released Animated children’s series titled “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists” about Franklin the Turtle shooting at drug boats from a helicopter.
This is not reflected in the OLC memo, which only considers the legality of targeting boats and will be illustrated by test cases of what the military is allowed to target even under the so-called laws of armed conflict.
For example, a military factory known to supply an army is generally considered a legitimate military target. But one of the experts said the workers would be civilians and killing would be illegal unless they were part of a belligerent force.
