75 m. 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

Events

91 m. ago US military conducts strike on another suspected drug boat as probe into the first strike begins

U.S. Southern Command says it has conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, following a pause of almost three weeks

Events

2 h. 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...

Events

5 h. 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...

Events

6 h. ago US admiral defends second strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean

Briefing to lawmakers over September 2 mission comes as Trump and Hegseth seek to distance themselves

Events

7 h. 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...

Events

9 h. 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

Events

11 h. ago Military general to claim survivors of boat strike were trying to continue their drug run when hit with second attack

Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley is expected to explain how he concluded the survivors were legitimate targets for another attack

Events

12 h. 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

Events

13 h. ago Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley: The ‘gold standard’ Navy SEAL officer at the centre of Hegseth boat strike blame game

Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley - described as ‘a leader of courage, integrity, professionalism and unmatched skill’ - will address Congress over the deadly ‘double tap’ strike on a suspected drug boat

Events

14 h. 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...

Events

14 h. ago Hegseth under pressure as admiral blamed for ‘war crime’ boat strike to be grilled by Congress: Live

Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley is set to give a classified briefing to lawmakers over the lethal Venezuela ‘drug boat’ strikes

Events

16 h. ago Hegseth forced out US Navy admiral who had legal concerns over Trump’s drug boat strikes: report

The departure of Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, has stunned lawmakers and military experts

Events

26 h. ago Pentagon reportedly knew strike on alleged drug boat left survivors

It is still unclear who ordered the strikes and whether US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth was involved, source tells Associated PressThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had started its immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans today.In a statement, the department said Operation Catahoula Crunch would target “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies”. New Orleans is the latest Democratic-run city (albeit in a Republican-led state) to see federal immigration agents on its streets. Most recently, the Trump administration targeted Charlotte, North Carolina, and touted the arrest of more than 300 undocumented immigrants. Continue reading...

Events

27 h. ago Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow

The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike

Events

28 h. 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

Events

39 h. 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

54 h. ago Hegseth says he ‘didn’t stick around’ to watch second strike on alleged drug boat; Trump vows land strikes on cartels are coming ‘very soon’ – live

President says countries manufacturing and selling drugs to the US are “subject to attack”, adding that strikes wouldn’t be limited to VenezuelaTrump says he and Hegseth didn’t know about second strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boatPete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagementJoseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in WashingtonThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts. Continue reading...

Events

54 h. ago BREAKING: Donald Trump says he would target ANY country trafficking drugs into US

The US has already targeted an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea

Events

54 h. ago Trump says ‘we’re going to start doing those strikes on land too’ as he talks about drug boat attacks

Trump said carrying out strikes on land would be ‘much easier’

Events