In a rare show of bipartisanship, two senior senators announced plans to dig into reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly directed U.S. forces to kill every person aboard a suspected drug vessel.
The escalating controversy has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s expanded operations in the Caribbean and fueled political backlash.
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) released a statement saying they were aware of “recent news reports” and the Pentagon’s early response to allegations surrounding follow-on strikes on narcotics vessels.
They noted that their committee had already submitted inquiries and promised “vigorous oversight” to determine what actually happened during the missions.
Wicker and Reed had previously joined forces against Hegseth in recent months.
They sent a letter to Hegseth at the end of September to inform him of legal requirements mandating congressional oversight over military execute orders, which stated that orders must be sent to defense committees within 15 days of being issued.
On Nov. 15, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,… pic.twitter.com/iM1PhIsroj
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) November 16, 2025
A second letter in October requested the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel write an opinion on the legality of the operations.
The uproar followed a Washington Post report claiming that Hegseth delivered a spoken directive early in the operation instructing teams to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat.
According to the report, the initial strike in September failed to eliminate the full crew, prompting a second strike.
The commander overseeing the mission reportedly told colleagues that survivors remained legitimate targets because they could alert other traffickers, and that the second hit was required to carry out Hegseth’s directive.
Hegseth fired back hours later, calling the reporting “fake news” and insisting that the Trump administration’s operations were lawful and tailored to dismantle drug networks threatening the United States.
He criticized the media for what he described as inflammatory attempts to undermine U.S. forces.
In a detailed message, he declared that the strikes were “highly effective” operations designed to destroy drug boats and eliminate what he referred to as narco-terrorists.
He wrote that “every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
He also contrasted the Trump administration’s border and national security strategy with what he characterized as the Biden administration’s softer approach.
Hegseth argued that the previous administration “preferred the kid gloves approach” and allowed “dangerous cartels and unvetted Afghans” to enter the country.
He pointed out that the current administration had closed the border and taken the offensive against narcotics traffickers. He added that “Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them.”
Hegseth asserted that all current activity in the Caribbean complied with domestic and international law, and said the actions were reviewed and approved by senior military and civilian legal authorities “up and down the chain of command.”
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He later posted from his personal account that “we have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists,” signaling the likelihood of further strikes.
Over the past several weeks, the Pentagon significantly boosted its presence in the region, concentrating largely around Venezuela.
Earlier in the month, Hegseth announced “Operation Southern Spear,” an initiative designed to disrupt drug trafficking throughout the Western Hemisphere.
The operation is being managed by a counternarcotics task force formed in October and U.S. Southern Command.
Since September, the U.S. military has launched more than 20 strikes against suspected drug vessels, resulting in the deaths of over 80 individuals identified by the administration as narco-terrorists.
Alongside those actions, the State Department moved to label Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, accusing President Nicolás Maduro of overseeing a drug trafficking enterprise.
Although Maduro signaled a willingness to ease tensions, he also indicated that his armed forces remained prepared for a potential U.S. response.
President Trump suggested the possibility of expanding operations beyond the sea.
Speaking to military personnel on Thanksgiving, he said they had deterred many traffickers from arriving by sea and were preparing to stop them by land.
He added that the administration planned to act “very soon,” warning traffickers to stop sending “poison to our country.”
The operations triggered pushback from across the political spectrum. Critics questioned whether the strikes had sufficient legal basis.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a social media post that Hegseth’s reaction to the renewed attention likely stemmed from concerns about “illegal orders to murder people.”
If you want to know why Hegseth is panicking about reminders that there is accountably for giving or carrying out illegal orders, it’s likely because he knows he has given illegal orders to murder people. https://t.co/lchjGpezIH
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 28, 2025
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pressed the administration to release full, unedited footage of the strikes, saying that the public deserved transparency and that Congress would hold the administration accountable.
Amid the growing tension, Trump issued another warning, this time directed at pilots, airlines, and traffickers.
Posting on Truth Social, he told them to consider the airspace above and around Venezuela “closed in its entirety.”
His message came one day after a report alleging that Trump spoke with Maduro in the previous week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly joining the conversation.
The conversation reportedly included discussion of a potential meeting between the two leaders.
