Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has rejected a media report claiming he instructed military forces to leave no survivors following a September strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.
According to the report, two people were seen clinging to the wreckage after the initial missile strike. The report alleges a follow-up strike was ordered — an action attributed to Hegseth’s supposed direction to “kill everybody.” Hegseth responded publicly, calling those claims false and labeling the story “fabricated and inflammatory.”
He defended the operation as a legitimate strike against a group identified as a terrorist-linked narcotics network, stating the mission complied with U.S. law and international norms. Pentagon spokesmen echoed this view, reiterating that the strike was aimed at disrupting drug-trafficking routes and eliminating dangerous operatives.
Despite the denials, lawmakers and human-rights observers have expressed alarm, calling for an independent investigation to determine whether the alleged follow-up attack — if true — crossed legal and ethical lines.