A US Navy admiral testified that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give the order to 'kill them all' during a controversial second US military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, multiple lawmakers have said.
The affirmations by Democratic and Republican lawmakers were made after viewing footage of the 2 September double-strike incident and hearing from Adm Frank Bradley in closed-door hearings.
The briefing before members of the House of Representatives and later the Senate came as questions continued around the legality of military force used against suspected drug boats.
The White House has said Adm Bradley was responsible for the strikes and that he acted within the law.
On Thursday evening, the US military posted on X that it had killed four people in another boat strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean, at Hegseth's direction.
Prior to news of the latest strike, lawmakers reacted to the testimony, with the most senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Jim Himes, stating Adm Bradley should have the respect of all, but added, 'what I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service.'
'Yes, they were carrying drugs. They were not in the position to continue their mission in any way,' Himes said.
After the briefing, Representative Adam Smith, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, released a joint statement with Himes calling for the video to be released publicly.
'The briefing left us with more questions than answers, and Congress must continue to investigate this matter and conduct oversight,' they stated.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton said Adm Bradley and Hegseth 'did exactly what we would expect them to do'. He noted that two survivors were trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States. Meanwhile, Senator Jack Reed expressed his disturbance over the events and a commitment to continue the investigation.
Lawmakers are uneasy about the ongoing US military campaign against vessels linked to drug trafficking, which has left many fatalities, amid questions regarding the legality of such strikes and the treatment of survivors. The White House has stated the operations are lawful, but bipartisan concerns continue to grow.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to express unease regarding the military campaign, calling into question the ongoing strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats and their legality under international law. The administration claims operations in the Caribbean are a non-international armed conflict, yet the ethics and legality of targeting wounded individuals remain under scrutiny.
