White House says U.S. authorized second deadly Venezuelan ship attack

The White House confirmed that top U.S. Navy commanders ordered a second strike on a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in Venezuela.

The “double-tap” strike on September 2 drew close attention from U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The Washington Post recently reported Two men survived the first explosion and were still clinging to the burning vessel when they were killed, raising new questions of legality.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegers authorized the attack but did not issue an order to “kill everyone” as reported.

Levitt said “Gen. Frank Bradley did a great job within the scope of his authority and the law” in ordering the additional strikes.

Since early September, a number of similar attacks have occurred in the Caribbean, killing more than 80 people. Each announcement from U.S. officials was often accompanied by grainy video, but there was no evidence of suspected drug trafficking and no details about who or what was aboard each ship.

The Trump administration says it acted in self-defense by destroying a ship carrying illegal drugs into the United States.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about reports of the Sept. 2 incident and vowed that Congress would review the attack.

“President Trump and Secretary Heggs have made clear that narco-terrorist organizations designated by the president will be lethal targets under the laws of war,” Levitt said at a press conference Monday.

The press secretary neither confirmed that the first attack left behind two survivors nor that the second attack was intended to kill them.

Media reports said Hegseth ordered the killing of everyone on board the ship in the Sept. 2 attack, rekindling concerns about the legality of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking ships in the Caribbean.

Heggs refuted the allegations in the report, calling them “fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory.” On Monday, he tweeted that Adm. Bradley “is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100 percent support.

“I support him and his decision to fight – both for the mission on September 2 and for all other missions since then.”

The United States has expanded its military presence in the Caribbean in recent weeks as part of its so-called counternarcotics operations.

Trump warned on Thursday that the United States would “very soon” begin to stop Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land.”

Over the weekend, the Senate Armed Services Committee said it would conduct “rigorous oversight to determine the facts related to the September 2 attack.”

Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee’s Republican chairman, said Monday that lawmakers planned to interview “the admiral responsible for the operation.” He added that it was also looking for audio and video to “see what the orders were.”

The House Armed Services Committee also said it would lead a “bipartisan effort to collect a complete accounting of the operations.”

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, composed of the nation’s most senior military officers, met with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees over the weekend.

The group said discussions focused on operations in the region and “the intent and legality of the mission to disrupt illicit trafficking networks.”

Several experts interviewed by the BBC expressed serious doubts about whether the second attack on the alleged survivors was legal under international law. Survivors may have been protected by the protection provided for shipwrecked sailors or troops unable to continue fighting.

The Trump administration says its operations in the Caribbean are a non-international armed conflict with suspected drug traffickers.

The rules of engagement for such armed conflicts under the Geneva Conventions prohibit the targeting of injured participants and say they should be arrested and cared for.

Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. military came under scrutiny for its practice of firing multiple rounds from drones called “double click”sometimes resulting in civilian casualties.

Venezuela’s National Assembly condemned the ship attack on Sunday and vowed to conduct a “rigorous and thorough investigation” into the Sept. 2 attack.

The Venezuelan government accuses the United States of fanning tensions in the region with the aim of overthrowing the government.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab told BBC Newsnight on Monday that Trump’s charges stemmed from “enormous jealousy” of the country’s natural resources.

He also called on the U.S. and Venezuelan governments to engage in direct dialogue “to dismantle the toxic atmosphere we have witnessed since last July.”

On Sunday, Trump confirmed that he had a brief phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, urging him to resign and leave the country with his family.

In a phone call last month, Trump reportedly told Maduro he could travel to a destination of his choice but only if he agreed to leave immediately. After rejecting the request, Trump posted on social media that the airspace over Venezuela should be considered “totally closed.”

Maduro has asked for amnesty for his top aides and to be allowed to retain control of the military after relinquishing the government. The Miami Post and Reuters reported that Trump rejected both requests, but the BBC has not confirmed this news.

U.S. officials claim Maduro himself is a member of a “terrorist” group called the Sol Cartel, which they say includes senior Venezuelan military and security officials involved in drug trafficking. Maduro denies this.

Additional reporting by Lucy Gilder and Thomas Copeland