USA Hegseth on controversial attack: No survivors seen
In the case of a controversial attack in which, according to media reports, two survivors were killed after the destruction of an alleged drug boat, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has denied direct responsibility. He had watched the first attack on the boat in the Caribbean live at the beginning of September, but then left for another appointment, Hegseth said after a cabinet meeting in the White House. "I personally did not see any survivors," Hegseth emphasized. There was smoke and fire, he added. "This is the fog of war".
02.12.2025, 22:33
SDA
The background to this are reports by CNN and the Washington Post that the US military first attacked a boat transporting drugs in the Caribbean on September 2 with one strike and then killed two surviving men with a second strike. According to experts, the second attack may have violated international law - the men had been clinging to the smouldering wreckage and posed no immediate threat, according to the Washington Post.
Hegseth now said that he only learned a few hours later that the commander in charge, Admiral Frank M. Bradley, had made the decision "which he was fully authorized to make". Admiral Bradley had made the right decision to sink the boat and eliminate the threat. "We stand behind him," Hegseth said.
Trump: "I was not involved"
Trump was reserved in his comments on the case. As far as the attack was concerned, he had not yet received much information as he was relying on Hegseth. But for him it was an attack, not one or two or three punches. Someone had asked him a question about the second punch. "I didn't know anything about the second punch. I didn't know anything about the people. I wasn't involved in it." Trump emphasized that the commander in charge was an extraordinary man.
Searching for a scapegoat?
The "Washington Post" reported that there is concern in Congress and the Department of Defense that the Trump administration wants to make the commander responsible a scapegoat in order to take the pressure off Hegseth.
For weeks, the US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean that were allegedly being used to smuggle drugs into the USA. Soldiers have also been deployed to the Caribbean. The world's largest aircraft carrier "USS Gerald R. Ford" was also deployed to the region, accompanied by other warships and a long-range bomber.
Hegseth announced further attacks at the cabinet meeting. "We have only just begun to destroy drug boats and send drug terrorists to the bottom of the sea," said Hegseth.
According to the minister, the amount of drugs entering the country via the sea has now fallen by 91 percent. The USA had therefore taken a short break in its attacks on drug smuggling boats "because it is currently difficult to find boats that we can attack". The data cannot be independently verified.
