New details have surfaced about the controversial second US military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat on September 2, with a source familiar with the operation saying the two men killed in the follow-up strike were deemed “still in the fight” because they appeared to be communicating with nearby vessels and recovering narcotics from the damaged boat, reported ABC news.The new information emerged ahead of a closed-door briefing to Congress by admiral Frank M Bradley on Thursday.
The initial strike left two survivors who climbed back onto the vessel. Their actions led military commanders to assess them as continuing their mission and therefore legitimate targets under standing contingency plans developed for counter-cartel operations, ABC said citing sources. The September 2 attack marked the first time the US military used air power against a suspected cartel boat under the Trump administration’s new policy framework.The second strike has triggered criticism on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers have raised concerns that it may have violated international humanitarian law, which protects combatants who are shipwrecked or otherwise out of action, as well as maritime obligations to rescue people in distress at sea.Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said Bradley – then the head of joint special operations command (JSOC) – had operational authority to order the second strike under instructions Hegseth had previously issued. Bradley has since taken over as commander of US special operations command (SOCOM). Hegseth said he watched a live feed of the first strike but “moved on to my next meeting” and did not “personally see” the follow-on strike that killed the survivors.The source told ABC News that – as is standard practice for targeted operations – a military lawyer was physically present with Bradley throughout the mission to provide legal guidance. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he supported releasing any footage the military possesses, telling reporters, “Whatever they have we’d certainly release, no problem.”The Pentagon’s contingency plan for such operations distinguishes between survivors who are incapacitated or shipwrecked – who must be rescued – and those who are assessed to still pose a threat, including by coordinating with accomplices or engaging in actions deemed hostile. The source said the military rehearsed these scenarios extensively before the first strike.Subsequent October operations illustrate how the plan works in practice. On October 16, two survivors from a semi-submersible were rescued after being determined to be “no longer in the fight.” On October 27, another survivor was seen swimming after an airstrike off the coast of Mexico; the U.S. requested a rescue mission by Mexican authorities, but the individual was never found and is believed to have drowned.So far, 21 US airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have resulted in 83 deaths.
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