Pentagon knew ship attack left survivors, but still launched follow-up strike, AP sources say
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on a suspected drug trafficking ship in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The reason for the second attack was that it was necessary to sink the ship, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The Trump administration says all 11 people on board died.
What is unclear is who ordered the attacks and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was involved, one of the people said. The details are becoming crucial as lawmakers have launched investigations and seek to determine whether the United States acted lawfully during its military operations.
The questions are expected to arise Thursday during a classified congressional briefing with the commander the Trump administration says ordered the second strike, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley.
The Pentagon did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment on newly reported details about the Sept. 2 attack.
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Hegseth is under increasing scrutiny for the department’s attacks on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, and particularly the subsequent attack that allegedly killed survivors. Some legal experts and lawmakers say the strike would have violated peacetime laws and those governing armed conflict.
Hegseth has defended that the second attack arose in the “fog of war,” and said during a Cabinet meeting this week at the White House that he did not see any survivors but also did not “stay around” for the rest of the mission.
The defense secretary has also said that Bradley, as admiral in charge, “made the right decision” in ordering the second strike, which he “had full authority to do.”
President Donald Trump was asked Wednesday whether he would release video of the subsequent attack, as top Democratic lawmakers have demanded. He responded: “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we will certainly publish. No problem,” he told reporters.
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The Trump administration has said that the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, even though Congress has not approved any authorization for the use of military force in the region.
A strike in late September led the family of a Colombian to file a formal challenge to the main human rights watchdog in the Americas, arguing that his death was an extrajudicial execution. The petition from Alejandro Carranza’s family says the military bombed their fishing boat on September 15 in violation of human rights conventions.
The subsequent Sept. 2 attack was the first ship hit in what the Trump administration calls an anti-drug campaign that has grown to more than 20 known attacks and more than 80 deaths.
Information about the subsequent strike was not presented to lawmakers during a classified briefing in September, in the days after the incident. It was revealed later, one of the people said, and the explanation provided by the department has been generally unsatisfactory to several members of congressional homeland security committees.
In a rare show of bipartisan oversight, the Armed Services committees in both the House and Senate quickly announced investigations into the attacks as lawmakers from both parties raised questions.
Bradley is scheduled to appear Thursday in a classified briefing with the panels’ two Republican chairmen and two ranking Democratic members.