Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday defended the Trump administration’s military actions against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, saying they show “the strength of American resolve.”
“Right now the world is seeing the strength of American resolve in stemming the flow of lethal drugs to our country,” Hegseth said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. “Here, again, we’ve been focused and here we’ve been clear: If you’re working for a designated terrorist organization and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you.”
Hegseth’s remarks come as the administration faces mounting scrutiny over its counter-drug offensive, including for ordering a follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug boat.
It is considered a war crime to kill shipwrecked people, which the Pentagon’s law of war manual defines as people “in need of assistance and care” who “must refrain from any hostile act.”
The September follow-up strike has drawn bipartisan scrutiny — including a vow from the Senate Armed Services Committee to conduct oversight.
Continue reading the complete article on the original source
