White House says Hegseth did not give order for strike on survivors of Caribbean drug boat attack

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday was questioned about a US military strike that took place on September 2 targeting drug boats in the Caribbean after it was alleged that a commander issued a second strike to comply with an order from Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth that no survivors be left.

A reporter asked, "Does the administration deny that that second strike happened, or did it happen and the administration denies that Hegseth gave the order," to which Leavitt replied, "the latter is true."

Reading out a statement, Leavitt said, "President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narcoterrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on September 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral 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."

She continued, "And I would just add one more point to remind the American public why these lethal strikes are taking place, because this administration has designated these narcoterrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The President has a right to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America and if they are bringing illegal narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing. And under the previous administration, there was enough fentanyl trafficked into our country to kill every American man, woman, and child, many times over."

A Washington Post report citing "two people with direct knowledge of the operation" said that Hegseth’s "order was to kill everybody," resulting in the second strike that was said to have killed two survivors. That second strike was reportedly issued "to comply with Hegseth's instructions." 

Hegseth has denied ordering to "kill everybody," calling it "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting" from "the fake news." He wrote, "As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization."

Five US officials who spoke to the New York Times said that ahead of the September 2 strikes, Hegseth had ordered a strike to kill people on the boat and destroy it as well as its cargo. However, each official said that the order did not address what should happen if the first strike did not accomplish those goals. The officials also said that the order was not made in response to surveillance footage that reportedly showed at least two people who had survived the first strike. 

Admiral Bradley ordered the initial strike, as well as follow-up ones, and Hegseth did not give any further orders as the operation unfolded, the officials said.