Sunny Hostin accuses Hegseth of ‘war crimes’, says US should give captured combatants ‘refuge’

“I can’t speak to the law of it. I don’t know, you know, I’m not a geopolitical expert,” Hostin said. “But that is why those army vets explained, do not follow, you do not have to follow illegal orders… because if this is deemed to have been war crimes, which by all accounts right now, there are seven sources that said Pete Hegseth did say kill them all, even after there were two survivors.”

She continued by asserting that surviving combatants must be taken into custody under international law. “You are supposed to take those fighters as war criminals, prisoners of war, and you’re supposed to give them refuge and you’re supposed to take care of them. And then you were supposed to put them into a court of law,” she said.

It comes as the administration faces questions over a September strike and Hegseth calls the allegations against him “fake news”

The debate was reignited after a Washington Post report claimed Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug-smuggling vessel during a September 2 interdiction in the Caribbean. Hegseth has forcefully rejected that account.

“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” he wrote on X. “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’”

Hegseth added that the mission’s intent is to destroy narco-boats and kill designated narco-terrorists responsible for trafficking lethal drugs. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that Hegseth authorized a follow-up strike after an initial hit left two survivors. She said Adm. Frank Bradley operated within legal authorities and that the administration considers the groups foreign terrorist organizations subject to lethal targeting.

Hegseth defended the broader operation, saying the administration has carried out more than 20 strikes and killed over 80 alleged narco-terrorists. “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law,” he said.