Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the U.S.’ recent strikes against alleged drug boats, calling news coverage of the airstrikes “fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory.”
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth wrote on X Friday. “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.”
As Hegseth continued, he claimed that “every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
“The Biden administration preferred the kid gloves approach, allowing millions of people — including dangerous cartels and unvetted Afghans — to flood our communities with drugs and violence,” he added. “The Trump administration has sealed the border and gone on offense against narco-terrorists. Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them. Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”
Hegseth’s comments come amid growing criticism regarding the strikes, especially after the Washington Post published a report that alleged the Secretary of War ordered “to kill everybody” during a September strike on an alleged drug boat.
In response to the report, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on X Friday, “If you want to know why Hegseth is panicking about reminders that there is accountably for giving or carrying out illegal orders, it’s likely because he knows he has given illegal orders to murder people.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) chimed in with, “If this reporting is accurate, Secretary Hegseth ordered a murder and must be held accountable. This is probably why he is so concerned about Senator Kelly and my colleagues’ warning about illegal orders.”
