US admiral ordered second strike on drug boat survivors? White House confirms what Hegseth called ‘fake news’

The White House on Monday (Dec 1) confirmed that a US admiral under Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation striking survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug boat. The White House said that Admiral Frank Bradley, who leads the US Special Operations Command, was acting legally and properly in ordering the second strike on survivors. This comes following reports suggesting American troops killed survivors of one such missile strike, a claim Hegseth earlier called “fake news”. A day earlier, US President Donald Trump also backed Hegseth’s remarks, saying that he would not have wanted that.

Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She added that Hegseth “authorised Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.”

The White House statement comes in contradiction to that of Hegseth’s, in which he denied that reports, calling them “fake news” intended to “discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.” Defending the recent operations of the US military against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, Hegseth said on Friday (Nov 28) that the intent of the strikes was to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco boats, and kill the narco terrorists “who are poisoning the American people.”

Days earlier, the Washington Post reported that on September 2, the US military conducted a follow-up strike after seeing two survivors of an initial attack. The report added that following the operation, protocols were changed to rescue any survivors.

Slamming the reports, Hegseth said, “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.” He further added, “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both US and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”