White House Says US Attack On Venezuela Boat Was Lawful

The Trump administration is under heavy fire after new reporting revealed that a U.S. admiral ordered a second strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug boat on 2nd September — a “double tap” that killed two people who had reportedly survived the first blast.

According to The Washington Post, the survivors were still clinging to the burning wreck when the follow-up strike hit. That detail has triggered bipartisan concern, with lawmakers calling for investigations into who approved the second attack and whether it was legal.

The White House insists Admiral Frank Bradley acted within his authority. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “Admiral (Frank) Bradley worked well within his authority and the law” and that “Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.” She pushed back against claims that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the admiral to “kill everybody,” saying that that order was never given.

Hegseth has rejected those accusations outright, calling the reports “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory” and praising Bradley as “an American hero.” He also argued the mission falls under a fight against “narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.”

But critics — including military law scholars and former JAG officers — say the second strike may have violated international humanitarian law. Shipwrecked or incapacitated people are protected unless they pose a direct threat, and several experts say the survivors should have been detained or aided, not targeted. One legal expert described killing shipwrecked survivors as a likely war crime.

President Trump has added more confusion. Speaking to reporters, he said he “wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike” and claimed Hegseth told him he never ordered the deaths of the two survivors. At the same time, the White House maintains the attack was “conducted in self defense” and aligned with the “law of armed conflict.”

The incident is part of a wider U.S. military campaign across the Caribbean and Pacific that has destroyed more than a dozen suspected drug vessels and killed over 80 people since early September. Each announcement from officials is typically paired with grainy footage, but little information about who was on board.

Congress isn’t satisfied. Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have launched inquiries, requesting recordings, briefings, and testimony from those involved. Senator Roger Wicker says lawmakers plan to interview “the admiral that was in charge of the operation” to determine what orders were actually given.

Meanwhile, tensions with Venezuela continue to rise. The country’s National Assembly condemned the strikes and says it will conduct its own investigation. Trump recently warned that efforts to stop drug trafficking “by land” could begin “very soon,” and confirmed he spoke briefly with President Nicolás Maduro to pressure him to step down — a call that reportedly included offers for Maduro to leave the country immediately.

As the U.S. escalates its presence in the region and weighs options against Maduro’s government, the legality and morality of the September 2nd strike remain at the center of a growing political storm.