Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday defended U.S. military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, insisting President Donald Trump has the authority to act “as he sees fit” and dismissing concerns that the operations violate international law.
Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Hegseth argued the strikes, which have killed more than 80 people since September, were necessary to protect Americans. He compared suspected drug smugglers to al-Qaida terrorists, declaring: “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.”
The Trump administration has carried out nearly two dozen strikes in recent months, claiming they are legal under the rules of war because fentanyl traffickers are operating as part of designated terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Colombia’s National Liberation Army.
Legal experts have challenged that rationale, noting the United States is not at war with any armed group in the Caribbean and that suspected traffickers have not attacked U.S. targets. Critics also point out that the government has offered little proof to support its cartel designations and that most fentanyl enters the country through Mexico, not by sea.
Scrutiny intensified after a Washington Post report revealed that a September 2 strike was followed by a second attack on survivors clinging to wreckage. The report said the order came from Hegseth to “kill everybody.” Hegseth denied the claim, saying Adm. Frank Bradley “sunk the boat and eliminated the threat” and that he did not remain on site after the initial strike.
Democratic lawmakers have called for Hegseth’s resignation. The New Democrat Coalition, the largest Democratic caucus in the House, labeled him “incompetent, reckless, and a threat to the lives of the men and women who serve in the armed forces.” Coalition leaders Brad Schneider and Gil Cisneros accused him of lying, deflecting blame, and refusing accountability.
Hegseth also repeated Trump’s vow to resume nuclear testing to match China and Russia. He criticized Republican leaders for supporting wars in the Middle East and dismissed concerns about climate change affecting military readiness. “The war department will not be distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation building,” he said.
Despite mounting criticism, Hegseth showed no sign of retreating from his defense of the controversial operations.