Overview
- A new NDAA provision would withhold 25% of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon turns over unedited videos of the Caribbean and Pacific strikes and overdue reports on execute orders.
- Since early September, at least 22 strikes have killed 87 people in waters near Venezuela and in the eastern Pacific, prompting questions about congressional authorization and the campaign’s legal basis.
- Officials confirm four strikes were used on Sept. 2, with a second strike about 40 minutes after the first killing the final two survivors, which legal experts say could constitute a war crime or, outside armed conflict, murder.
- After classified viewings, lawmakers split along party lines on whether the survivors posed a threat, and members including Rep. Jim Himes are urging public release of the full video.
- The administration’s account has shifted on key facts, including the boat’s destination possibly linking to a vessel bound for Suriname, while President Trump says he is open to releasing the video and Hegseth cites protection of sources and methods as resurfaced 2016 clips show Hegseth saying troops must refuse unlawful orders.