6 h. ago All of the suspected drug boat killings are murders | Kenneth Roth

There is no rule of law if the president can deem anyone an enemy combatant and order them summarily shotThe largely supine Republicans in Congress had no apparent trouble as Donald Trump and defense secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of suspected drug runners off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. But suddenly they are up in arms because the Washington Post reported on 28 November about one incident, a double-tap strike, in which the US military finished off two survivors of an attack.Tempted as I am to accept whatever it takes to spark some minimal scrutiny of these summary executions, I hope this unexpected opening prompts broader investigation of this entire series of murders, which have now claimed 87 victims in 22 attacks. As Democrats join in, there are some indications that this expanded scrutiny may be finally beginning.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Public and Internatio...

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9 h. ago ‘A generation lost at sea’: the desperate Rohingya falling prey to traffickers as they flee Bangladesh

Barred from work and school in Bangladesh, thousands of refugees are making the perilous voyage to Malaysia by boat – with some beaten en route to extort even more moneyMajuma Begum stayed awake until 3am waiting for her son to return from the market before accepting he was not coming home. The next day he phoned to say he was on the Bangladeshi coast, waiting to begin a boat journey to Malaysia that she had desperately tried to stop him taking.It was the start of weeks of worry for the 58-year-old, whose fears deepened when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized near Malaysia in early November, killing dozens. She felt as though she could finally breathe again when he finally reached his destination. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago Secret intelligence from controversial drug boat strikes 'reveals why all 11 onboard were killed' as Pete Hegseth makes first public remarks on operation

The attack was the Trump administration's first bombing in its two-month campaign in the Caribbean which has seen 14 boats blown up.

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4 d. ago Pressure grows on ‘reckless’ Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief

Defense secretary defiant but allegations of war crimes and blistering watchdog report increase calls for him to goPete Hegseth is facing the most serious crisis of his tenure as defense secretary, engulfed by allegations of war crimes in the Caribbean and a blistering inspector general report accusing him of mishandling classified military intelligence. Yet despite the long list of trouble and as lawmakers from both parties call for his resignation, Hegseth shows no signs of stepping down and still holds Donald Trump’s support.The twin crises have engulfed the former Fox News personality in separate but overlapping allegations that lawmakers, policy experts and former officials say reveal a pattern of dangerous recklessness at the helm of the Pentagon. Democratic legislators have reignited calls for his ouster after revelations that survivors clinging to wreckage from a September boat strike were deliberately killed in a “double-tap” attack, while a defense department investigation...

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5 d. ago The Trump administration sinks to a new low – opening fire on drowning men | Jonathan Freedland

These deadly US boat strikes are the latest example of a president corrupting both the law and moralityThe Trump administration looks ever more like a criminal enterprise – and now it seems to have added war crimes to its repertoire. Though even that may be too generous a description.On Thursday, word came that the US military had launched yet another deadly strike on a small boat moving through international waters. This time the attack killed four people, bringing to at least 87 the number of people the US has killed in a series of 22 such strikes on what it says are drug boats – vessels carrying illicit narcotics in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistGuardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US? On Wednesday 21 January 2026, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency – and to ask if Britain could be set on the same path. Book tickets h...

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5 d. ago Four killed in latest ‘drug boat’ strike as Hegseth faces war crimes accusations

The US military conducted another deadly strike on an alleged drug boat, killing four men on board.

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5 d. ago Hegseth orders new strike that kills 4 on alleged drug boat amid ‘double tap’ controversy

Attack comes just hours after Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley briefed concerned lawmakers about the September ‘double tap’ strike

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5 d. ago Hegseth orders new strike that kills four on alleged drug boat amid ‘double tap’ controversy

The attack comes just hours after Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley briefed concerned lawmakers about the September ‘double tap’ strike

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5 d. ago Pentagon announces it has killed four men in another boat strike in Pacific

Strike comes amid congressional turmoil over legality of US attacks on suspected drug smugglersThe Pentagon announced on Thursday that the US military’s southern command had conducted another deadly strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal narcotics, killing four men in the eastern Pacific.Video of the new strike was posted on social media by the US southern command, based in Florida, with a statement saying that, at the direction of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization”. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Experts urge release of boat strike video as US admiral denies ‘kill them all’ order

Democrat Jim Himes calls footage ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyTop Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Congress on Thursday said that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had not ordered the military to kill surviving members of a a deadly attack on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean, but differed over whether the double strike was appropriate.The allegation that Hegseth ordered the killing of survivors sparked bipartisan concern in Washington that he or others involved may have committed a war crime. On Thursday, US navy admiral Frank Bradley, who commanded the attack, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, appeared before the House and Senate’s armed services and intelligence committees for a closed briefing in which they showed video and discussed the attack with lawmakers. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago US lawmakers call for inquiry into second US military strike on alleged Caribbean drug boat

Democratic representative Jim Himes, who saw footage of attack, called it ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyA Democratic congressman described an unedited video of an extrajudicial military strike that killed two survivors in the Caribbean as “one of the most troubling scenes” he’s seen in public service, as human rights advocates and policy experts are lining up to demand the video’s public release.Congressman Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House intelligence committee, made the remarks on Thursday after viewing footage in a classified briefing of the 2 September follow-up attack that killed two men clinging to wreckage off the coast of Venezuela. His assessment came as experts called the operation murder under international law. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Lawmakers will hear from Navy admiral who ordered attack that killed boat strike survivors

The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is on Capitol Hill for a classified briefing with top lawmakers

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6 d. ago Here’s why Trump won’t do anything to Pete Hegseth over ‘kill them all’ boat strike scandal — for now

Trump’s desire to avoid anything resembling the chaos of his first term is keeping Pete Hegseth safely in the Pentagon, writes Andrew Feinberg ... at least for the next few months.

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6 d. ago The Latest: Lawmakers to hear from Navy admiral who ordered attack that killed boat strike survivors

The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders for the U.S. military to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is expected on Capitol Hill to provide a classified briefing to top congressional lawmakers overseeing national security

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6 d. ago Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shaky

Pentagon’s Law of War manual clearly prohibits attack, but justification for whole campaign also faces tough questionsGraphic depictions of two survivors being killed by a second US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug ferrying boat have provoked outrage where previously there was none – or at least relatively little.A firestorm of controversy has greeted a recent Washington Post report which suggested that a deadly attack on a vessel carrying 11 people in the Caribbean was followed with a second assault after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Mum's horrifying final moments as she's killed by 75lb stingray leaping from sea

Judy Kay Zagorski, 57, was on a family boat trip in the Florida Keys when she was tragically killed by a spotted eagle ray that jumped out of the water and struck her in the face

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6 d. ago Family of man killed in US ‘drug boat’ strike files complaint over ‘extrajudicial killing’

The U.S. military has killed more than 80 people since it began striking vessels that the Trump administration said were carrying drugs

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7 d. ago Three key reasons why Trump won’t do anything to Pete Hegseth over ‘kill them all’ boat strike scandal — for now

Trump’s desire to avoid anything resembling the chaos of his first term is keeping Pete Hegseth safely in the Pentagon, writes Andrew Feinberg ... at least for the next few months.

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7 d. ago Trump officials say second strike aimed to destroy drug boat instead of crew

Officials hew closely to secret memo which gives legal cover to firing on boats even if it would kill people on board Trump administration officials have defended carrying out a follow-up strike on a drug boat that killed survivors on 2 September by arguing that its objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat, an action the Pentagon had internal legal approval to conduct.The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Monday that Adm Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation and gave the order for the second strike, directed it to sink the boat. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Killer whales ‘violently’ attack family yacht weeks after orcas sink ship in same waters

‘Violent’ night time assault on family’s boat left it taking on water, only just making it to shore

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