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Two people who survived an early September U.S. attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean were waving overhead before they were killed in a now-controversial second strike, according to two sources familiar with a video that was shown to lawmakers this week.
One of the sources said the action could be interpreted as the survivors either calling for help or trying to wave off another strike.
The additional details were first reported by The New York Times.
The Sept. 2 operation was the first of more than 20 attacks on alleged drug-carrying vessels by the Trump administration in recent months — a campaign that officials argue is necessary to stem narcotics trafficking, but critics believe is legally unjustified. More than 80 people have been killed in the strikes, including 11 people on Sept. 2, the military has said.
The operation has drawn fresh scrutiny since a report last week that the U.S. military carried out a follow-up strike on the vessel, killing two people who survived the initial attack. Some Democrats and legal experts have argued a strike to kill shipwrecked survivors could constitute a war crime. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed there was a second strike, but argued it was lawful and warranted to “ensure the boat was destroyed.”
Members of Congress watched a video of the strikes — including the strike that killed the two survivors — during closed-door testimony on Thursday with the operation’s commander, Adm. Mitch Bradley, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
But lawmakers offered starkly differing interpretations of the video after the hearing.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut told reporters the survivors appeared to be “in clear distress without any means of locomotion,” calling it “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said the survivors were “trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States back over so they could stay in the fight,” concluding the four strikes on Sept. 2 were “entirely lawful and needful.”
Multiple lawmakers said Bradley testified that there was no order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everybody onboard.
President Trump said Wednesday he would support releasing a video of the strikes to the public. When asked by a reporter if he would support killing survivors, the president responded: “No, I support the decision to knock out the boats.”
