The White House has confirmed that Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley ordered a second strike on a boat in the Caribbean on 2 September, killing two survivors who had emerged from the wreckage. The attack has intensified legal scrutiny into the Trump administration’s lethal campaign against alleged drug-carrying vessels.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Bradley, then head of Joint Special Operations Command, was “well within his authority and the law” when he gave the order. She denied that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directly ordered the second strike, despite reports that Hegseth told personnel to “kill everybody” on board.
Law-of-war experts have labelled the strikes as possible war crimes, citing the Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual, which prohibits attacking wounded, sick, or shipwrecked individuals at sea. Leavitt did not explain how the second strike complied with these rules.
The White House also defended President Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of drug trafficking. Leavitt repeated claims of “over-prosecution” under Joe Biden.
Congressional leaders from both parties have promised “vigorous oversight” of the Pentagon, as calls for investigations into the alleged command grow. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, discussed the missions’ legality with armed services committee leaders.
