The U.S. Navy admiral who oversaw the double-tap strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat that killed survivors reportedly told lawmakers Thursday that the two stranded sailors did not appear to have communication devices that would have allowed them to contact others for help.
For days, officials have been defending the Trump administration’s September 2 strikes against the boat in the Caribbean, arguing that those aboard posed a threat to the U.S. because they could have called other alleged “narco-terrorists” for backup or attempted to deliver the illicit drugs again.
But Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley reportedly told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that the two survivors would not have been able to call for help, three people familiar with the briefings told CNN.
Bradley showed lawmakers footage of the strike during the classified briefing, in which the two survivors could reportedly be seen clinging to a partially capsized boat.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed that on Thursday, telling reporters the footage was “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”
“You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, who are killed by the United States,” Himes said.
However, Republican Senator Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, gave a conflicting analysis, claiming the admiral was right to conduct the second set of strikes due to the threat.
“I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat ― loaded with drugs, bound for the United States ― back over, so they could stay in the fight,” Cotton told reporters Thursday. “And potentially, given all the context we heard, of other narcoterrorist boats in the area coming to their aid to recover their cargo and recover those narcoterrorists.”
The administration has been conducting strikes on boats accused of trafficking illicit narcotics in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. At least 80 people have been killed as a result, all of whom the administration has accused of being “narco terrorists,” but without providing public evidence.
According to those familiar with the closed-door briefings, Bradley and the rest of the military command center overseeing the strikes contemplated whether to conduct a second set of strikes on the alleged drug boat and its survivors.
After consulting with a Judge Advocate General officer, the judicial officers for the military, the command decided it would be legal to conduct the second set of strikes.
Initial reporting of the double-tap strikes claimed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously given directions to “kill everybody.” However, the White House and Bradley denied that.
Bradley told lawmakers Thursday that Hegseth did not give a kill-all order, multiple Congress members said.
It is still unclear whether the strikes violate the laws of war. The administration and several Republican lawmakers contend the strikes were lawful.
However, it is considered a war crime to kill shipwrecked people who are “in need of assistance and care,” according to the Pentagon.
The Independent has asked the Pentagon for comment.
