Navy Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, who directed a second strike on an alleged “drug boat” operation in September, will deliver a classified briefing to senior members of the Senate and House Armed Services committees Thursday about the controversial strikes.
WATCH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on the administration’s boat strikes against alleged drug cartels in the Caribbean amid the growing controversy over a second boat strike during an operation in September. pic.twitter.com/rSLc8iUi1U
— The Hill (@thehill) December 2, 2025
From The Hill:
Bradley was authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a follow-up strike on Sept. 2 against survivors who were clinging to the wreckage of the targeted boat, an action that has triggered an uproar in Washington.
Bradley, who was head of the Joint Special Operations Command at the time of the strike, will brief the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services panels on that and other incidents, according to a source familiar with the matter.
More from the Washington Post:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said.
A missile screamed off the Trinidad coast, striking the vessel and igniting a blaze from bow to stern. For minutes, commanders watched the boat burning on a live drone feed. As the smoke cleared, they got a jolt: Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck.
The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack — the opening salvo in the Trump administration’s war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere — ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, two people familiar with the matter said. The two men were blown apart in the water.
The White House is twisting itself in knots trying to deflect responsibility for the second strike (which many legal experts say qualifies as a ‘war crime’) from Hegseth to Bradley without throwing Bradley under the bus.
But let’s face it – when even NewsMax’s legal expert calls it a ‘war crime,’ you’ve pretty much lost everyone.
“This is an act of a war crime, ordering survivors — who the law requires be rescued — instead to be murdered. There’s absolutely no legal basis for it.”
— @JudgeNap argued that a follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea violated laws requiring the rescue of… pic.twitter.com/RXfFNhDjWH
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 2, 2025
REPORTER: Does the administration deny that that second strike happened, or did it happen and the administration denies that Hegseth gave the order?
LEAVITT: The latter. Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. He worked well within his… pic.twitter.com/AAZ0BxrMmc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 1, 2025
Pete Hegseth on Sept 3 talking about the strike on boats where 2 survivors were later killed in a second strike: “I watched it live.” pic.twitter.com/W2nHktUucK
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 2, 2025
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