Pete Hegseth did not give order to ‘kill them all’, US lawmakers say

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not order “all of them killed” during the controversial second US military attack on an alleged drug ship in the Caribbean, many lawmakers say.

The statements by Democratic and Republican lawmakers were made after watching footage of the Sept. 2 double shooting incident and hearing from U.S. Navy Adm. Frank Bradley in closed-door hearings on Thursday.

The briefing before members of the House of Representatives and then the Senate came as questions remain about the legality of military force used against suspected drug boats.

The White House said Admiral Bradley was responsible for this action and that he acted lawfully.

Democratic congressman Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Admiral Bradley “did the right thing” after hearing from the admiral and watching the video.

“But what I saw in that room was one of the most disturbing things I have seen in my time in public service,” Himes said.

“Yes, they were transporting drugs. They were in no position to continue their duties,” Himes said. he added.

Following the briefing, Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, issued a joint statement with Himes calling for the video to be made public.

“The briefing left us with more questions than answers, and Congress should continue to investigate and conduct oversight on this issue,” they said.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Admiral Bradley and Hegseth “did exactly what we expected them to do.”

“I saw two survivors try to turn over a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States so they could stay in the fight,” Cotton said. he said.

Republican House Rep. Rick Crawford also defended the strikes, saying there was “no doubt in my mind” that they were not conducted in a professional manner.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed stated in his statement that he was “disturbed” by what he saw and added that his party would continue to investigate the incident.

The revelation that there were two attacks raised new questions about the legality of the administration’s ongoing deadly campaign against the boats because of what the rules of engagement say about targeting wounded combatants.

US President Donald Trump said he had “no problem” with the video of the second attack being made public. Footage of the first attack has already been released.

During the incident, two people who survived the initial attack attempted to climb back onto the boat before it was hit a second time, US media including CBS reported. A source said the couple were trying to recover drugs.

Admiral Bradley is expected to tell senior US lawmakers on Thursday that the survivors were a legitimate target because they were thought to still have drugs on their boat, a US official told Reuters news agency.

The September 2 incident was the first in an ongoing series of US strikes that left more than 80 people dead in both the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific.

Although US officials insist the attack was legal, the picture of what happened that day is still emerging.

The Washington Post was the first newspaper to report that two men survived the first attack on September 2 and that Hegseth allegedly ordered a second attack to kill them.

At the time, Hegseth immediately condemned the reporting as “fabricated, inflammatory and insulting,” while Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the “entire story is false.”

The existence of a second attack was later confirmed by the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order came not from Hegseth but from Admiral Bradley, who was “acting within his authority and the law.”

On Tuesday, Hegseth said he watched the first strike as it occurred before moving on to other meetings. He said he “did not personally see any survivors”, which he attributed to the flaming debris and “fog of war”.

Later that day, the secretary of defense recalled that he had been informed that Admiral Bradley had decided to “sink the boat and eliminate the threat”, an action he considered justified.

The issue has raised concerns from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, many of whom were already critical of the military action more generally.

Along with deadly attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling, the United States has also expanded its military presence in the Caribbean.

Venezuela itself has repeatedly condemned the attacks and accused the White House of increasing tensions in the region with the aim of overthrowing the government.

Trump claimed, without providing any evidence, that the attacks led to a major reduction in maritime drug smuggling.

Evidence that the individuals targeted in each case were drug traffickers was likewise not made public.

Speaking to the BBC, several experts expressed serious doubts that the second attack on the alleged survivors on September 2 could be considered legal under international law.

A former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) previously told the BBC that US air strikes on boats allegedly smuggling drugs would be considered crimes against humanity under international law.

“These are criminals, not soldiers. Criminals are civilians,” he said.

Survivors may have been subject to the protections afforded to shipwrecked sailors or troops unable to continue fighting.

The Trump administration has treated its operations in the Caribbean as 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.

Admiral Bradley has yet to comment publicly on the matter.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine is expected to join him at a secret congressional hearing on Thursday, a US official told CBS.

One of the dozens of people killed in the ongoing attacks is believed to be Colombian Alejandro Carranza, who was last seen on September 14.

BBC Mundo has confirmed that Carranza’s family has lodged a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington.