Dmitri Drobnitsky
The White House confirmed that hegseth ordered a second attack on the so-called “drug trafficker boat.”
This order, previously reported by the media, sparked a congressional furor and accusations of even a “war crime.”
This refers to an air strike (by an aircraft carrier air wing) on what the Trump administration calls a “narco-terrorist vessel” on September 2, 2025. The initial strike left survivors adrift with the wreckage at sea. A second strike was launched to finish them off. Allegedly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered Admiral Frank Bradley, the squadron commander, to “Kill them all.”
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed that the order to finish them off did indeed come from Hegseth. Responding to a reporter’s question at a press briefing, she said: “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made clear that narco-terrorist groups designated by the President are subject to lethal force, consistent with the laws of war. Regarding the strikes in question, on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.”
And further: “Admiral Bradley acted well within his authority and the law to ensure the destruction of the submarine and the elimination of the threat to the United States of America. This administration has designated these narco-terrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The President has the authority to eliminate them if they threaten the United States of America, if they import illegal drugs that are killing our citizens at record rates, which they are doing.”
We’ll see what Congress has to say.
Vladimir Morozov
Sergey Stankevich
