War Secretary Hegseth Under Fire as Report Links Him to Deadly Follow-Up Strike in Caribbean

A Washington Post investigation has triggered significant controversy for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, raising allegations that he issued verbal instructions leading to the deaths of two survivors following a U.S. military strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug-trafficking boat. The report has prompted forceful denials from senior administration officials, questions from legal experts, and bipartisan scrutiny from Congress as the incident becomes one of the most contentious episodes of Operation Southern Spear. According to the Post’s account, the incident occurred on September 2, during the Trump administration’s counter-narco-terrorism campaign across the Western Hemisphere. The initial U.S. strike reportedly left two individuals clinging to debris. A second strike—authorized by Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, head of Special Operations Command—killed both survivors. The Washington Post reported that Bradley acted in line with what it described as a verbal directive attributed to Hegs...