Two people who survived the U.S. military’s early September strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel were attempting to climb back onto the boat before it was hit a second time, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News on Wednesday.
The survivors allegedly tried to salvage some of the drugs, according to the source. They appeared to be in communication with others at the time, and there were other boats in the vicinity that could have picked them up, the source said.
ABC News was first to report the additional details on the strike. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted a video of ABC News’ report on X.
The Sept. 2 mission — the first of more than 20 attacks on alleged drug boats by the Trump administration in recent months — has drawn bipartisan scrutiny since last week, when The Washington Post reported that the military carried out at least two strikes on the same boat in the Caribbean, killing a pair of survivors from the initial hit. The newspaper alleged in its report that the second strike was conducted because Hegseth had said that everybody onboard the boat should be killed.
The White House confirmed this week that there was a second strike, but denied that Hegseth ordered it. Hegseth has said the decision was made by the mission’s commander, Adm. Mitch Bradley, and argued the follow-up strike was legal and justified.
Democrats and some legal experts have alleged the second strike may have constituted a war crime under U.S. and international law if the military targeted survivors. A Pentagon manual on the law of war says “wounded, sick, or shipwrecked” combatants no longer pose a threat and should not be attacked.
Even before the recent revelations, the campaign of boat strikes had drawn broader legal questions, with critics arguing the president doesn’t have the authority to order military operations against alleged traffickers without congressional approval. In the past, the U.S. has typically sought to interdict drug smugglers at sea, essentially treating them like criminals rather than combatants. The Trump administration has argued the strikes are lawful because the U.S. is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels that it views as terrorist organizations.
Lawmakers from both parties have vowed to investigate the Sept. 2 strike. Bradley is due to testify before Congress on Thursday. He is expected to show video from Sept. 2 and walk through his decisions, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to accompany Bradley for his congressional testimony, a U.S. official said.