President Donald Trump said the U.S. would start “doing those strikes on land” when speaking about U.S. military operations against alleged drug-carrying boats from Venezuela.
“We’re doing these [sea] strikes and we’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too, you know, the land is much easier, much easier,” Trump said Tuesday.
His comments come as the Pentagon faces scrutiny over a strike against an alleged drug boat in September.
During Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. has “only just begun striking Narco boats,” amidst growing questions about his role in authorizing the September strike.
Following an initial strike against the ship, two survivors were spotted, The Washington Post reported. A Joint Special Operations commander overseeing the attack then ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s earlier instructions to “kill everybody,” according to the report.
A Pentagon spokesperson called the narrative “completely false.”
However, on Monday, the White House said that a Navy admiral acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second strike. Lawmakers have announced congressional reviews of the U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs.
The commander who ordered the second lethal strike, Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, is expected to provide a classified briefing Thursday to lawmakers overseeing the military.
With reporting by the Associated Press.
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