Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said a Dec. 4 strike destroyed a suspected drug‑running vessel in international waters in the eastern Pacific, killing four people, and released a video of the blast.
- The operation is part of Operation Southern Spear, which the military says has carried out about 22 strikes since September with at least 87 deaths attributed to the campaign.
- Lawmakers who viewed classified footage said U.S. forces fired on two men clinging to wreckage in the Sept. 2 incident, with Rep. Jim Himes calling it an attack on shipwrecked sailors and Sen. Tom Cotton arguing the survivors tried to right the boat to continue the mission.
- Adm. Frank Bradley told lawmakers he received no explicit "kill them all" order from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, though Democrats and some Republicans continue to question the legality of the follow‑up strike.
- Committees are seeking the unedited video, written execute orders and the Justice Department’s classified Office of Legal Counsel opinion underpinning the campaign, which was signed Sept. 5 and, according to briefed members, was not available to key JAG officers until mid‑November.