US defence secretary says he did not see survivors before follow-up strike on drug boat
Reports indicate that an initial attack trapped two survivors on the burning boat before a second attack was ordered, killing them.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he "personally saw no survivors" before a subsequent deadly attack on a suspected drug-laden ship in the Caribbean.
The September 2 attack raised concerns that US troops may have violated the laws of armed conflict.
During a White House cabinet meeting, Hegseth attributed the attack to the "fog of war" in a chaotic situation. The White House said that a senior US Navy admiral, Frank Bradley, authorized the second attack.
In response to a reporter’s question during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Hegseth claimed to have seen the first attack “live” but quickly moved on to another meeting.
“I personally didn’t see any survivors,” Hegseth said of the first attack. “The thing was on fire and it exploded… you can’t see anything. It’s called the fog of war.”
He added that he learned “a few hours later” that Admiral Bradley had made the “right decision” to sink the ship.
“We stand behind him,” Hegseth said of Bradley.
President Trump also defended Admiral Bradley, although he distanced himself from his decision to attack the ship a second time, saying that “we knew nothing” about the subsequent attack.
“And I can say this: I want those ships taken away,” Trump added.
More than 80 people have died in a wave of similar attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the attacks as a necessary act of self-defense to save American lives from the illegal drug trade.
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