US Congress Seeks Answers on Alleged Pentagon-Ordered Follow-Up Strike on Venezuelan Boat
US lawmakers are demanding full transparency from the Trump administration after explosive reports alleged that American forces carried out a second strike on a Venezuelan vessel to kill survivors of an initial attack during anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.
Republican-led committees overseeing the Pentagon say they will conduct “vigorous oversight” following a Washington Post report claiming Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an order to “kill everybody” on a boat targeted on 2 September. The newspaper alleges that when two men survived the first strike, a second attack was launched to comply with the instruction.
Hegseth has dismissed the account as “fabricated” and “inflammatory.”
President Donald Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, said he believed his defence secretary “100%,” though he added that he personally “wouldn’t have wanted a second strike.”
Members of both parties say the allegations — if verified — could amount to a grave breach of international law.
“This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine told CBS.
Republican Mike Turner echoed the concern, calling such an action “an illegal act” if it occurred.
Since early September, the US has intensified its military presence across the Caribbean, striking suspected drug-smuggling boats operating in international waters off Venezuela and Colombia. More than 80 people have been killed in the campaign.
The Pentagon insists the operation is lawful and carried out in self-defence. Hegseth says all those targeted were “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee, run by Republicans, and the House Armed Services Committee have formally requested detailed briefings from the Department of Defense to establish what happened on 2 September and in subsequent strikes.
Lawmakers stress that they do not yet know whether the Washington Post report is accurate, but say it raises serious questions about rules of engagement — particularly regarding the treatment of wounded or incapacitated individuals under the Geneva Conventions.
Venezuela’s National Assembly has condemned the strikes and says it will conduct its own investigation.
Caracas accuses Washington of using anti-drug operations as a cover to destabilise the region and undermine President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump confirmed on Sunday that he recently spoke with Maduro but declined to disclose details of the conversation.
The legal framework governing the strikes is also under scrutiny. The US is not a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which restricts interference with vessels in international waters except under limited conditions. Experts note that force may be used to stop a boat, but lethal action is expected to be a last resort.