Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the officer in charge of the September 2 double-tap strike against an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, told lawmakers that everyone on board was on an approved list of military targets, according to a new report.
During a closed-door briefing with a dozen lawmakers, Bradley said all 11 people on the ship were on a list of narco-terrorists whom intelligence officials had validated as eligible for lethal action. He added that the vessel was not heading to the United States but towards Suriname in South America, though he argued the drugs could still have reached the US.
The revelation comes amid controversy over Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reported order to “kill everybody” on the vessel, as detailed by The Washington Post. The Pentagon has dismissed that account as “completely false”. Hegseth has since signalled support for Bradley, stating he would have “made the same call”.
Bradley told lawmakers he ordered a second strike after two survivors were spotted because the drugs had not been destroyed, the survivors had not surrendered, they were not visibly injured, and they remained on the approved target list. The second strike killed the survivors, but the boat did not sink, leading to two further strikes.
When asked if Hegseth had given a “no quarter order” – an illegal command to kill enemies regardless of surrender or injury – Bradley confirmed he had not received such an order and that he would not have followed it if he had.
