Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said a Dec. 4 strike in international waters destroyed a vessel on a narcotics route and killed four men at the direction of Secretary Pete Hegseth, who later celebrated the action on social media.
- The operation was the first in weeks and the 22nd strike since September, bringing reported fatalities to at least 87 across the campaign.
- Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley told lawmakers he received no “kill them all” order from Hegseth, though classified video showed two shipwrecked survivors were killed in a follow-up strike on Sept. 2.
- Lawmakers who viewed the footage said the survivors appeared unarmed and without radios, and several questioned whether they posed an imminent threat under the rules of war.
- Committees are seeking the Justice Department OLC opinion, written execute orders and unedited footage, as legal experts argue the administration has not provided a sufficient domestic or international legal basis for the lethal maritime campaign.