Category World News

After two people survived the initial attack, the Trump administration is in the news that its military launched a second strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, which Washington claims was carrying drugs.

Two questions, one of which was at the heart of the controversy: Who authorized and was it legal to launch a second strike on the ship in September?

What we are aware of is:

What transpired?

During Operation Southern Spear, a major campaign that President Donald Trump claims is aimed at destroying drug-trafficking networks, the US military struck a boat in the Caribbean on September 2, 2025.

Nine people died and the vessel was completely destroyed by the first strike. Left to cling to the debris were two survivors.

According to The Washington Post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal directive that the paper’s reporting described as “to kill everyone.”

Admiral Frank Bradley, the commander of the mission, then issued an additional strike that claimed the lives of the two survivors.

What is known as a “double tap” strike, which is understood in military jargon, is illegal according to experts. Democrats and several Republicans in Congress have voiced their opposition to the strikes, who have pledged to lead the investigation.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, which is led by Republicans, made the announcement on Friday that it would ensure “oversight” of the strikes. The committee’s chairs, Democratic Senator Jack Reed and Republican Senator Roger Wicker, both informed the committee of recent news reports and the Department of Defense’s initial response, according to a statement released by the committee. They said the Committee has directed inquiries to the Department, and “we will be conducting thorough oversight to ascertain the facts” in these circumstances.

Separately, the House Armed Services Committee requested “a full accounting of the operation in question.”

Congress’s committees have sought audio recordings and other sources of documentation to reconstruct the order’s implementation.

More than 80 people have been killed and more than 20 boats have been targeted by the US’s wider operation in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean so far.

What has Pete Hegseth said?

Hegseth described the report as “fake news” on social media, claiming that the boat strikes were “approved by the best military and civilian attorneys, up and down the chain of command” and “in compliance with the law of armed conflict.”

He also appeared to support the double strike.

Hegseth stated in a social media&nbsp post on Friday evening that the “declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.” Every trafficker we kill has a designated terrorist organization as its affiliation.

The Trump administration officially demonized the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua earlier this year as a terrorist organization. Additionally, it accused Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, of leading the Cartel de los Soles, which US officials described as a drug-smuggling network involving senior government and armed forces members.

In reality, Venezuelans refer to corrupt senior officials by a broad term, the Cartel de los Solos, rather than a cartel. Additionally, the US government’s own Drug Enforcement Agency names other nations as the main narcotics importers, not Venezuela. Tren de Aragua is a front for Maduro, according to Trump’s own intelligence agencies, which have established no connection between the gang and the president of Venezuela.

As per usual, fake news is bringing even more fabricated, incendiary, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors who fight to defend our country.

These extremely potent strikes, as we’ve already said, are specific to…

Has Trump and Trump argued in disagreement with one another?

Trump said in response to questions posed on Air Force One on Sunday that his administration “will investigate” the reports of the second ship’s September 2 strike.

However, he continued, “I wouldn’t have wanted that; not a second strike.”

He noted that Hegseth claimed that he had not ordered those two men’s deaths.

US troops assisted in several of the nearly two dozen subsequent US military strikes on boats and repatriated them to their respective nations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Hegseth’s argument in justifying the second strike on September 2 in contrast to Trump’s statement.

“The strike on September 2 was carried out in self-defense to safeguard American interests. In response to a reporter’s question on Monday evening, she responded, “The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict.”

Who then authorized the strike?

The White House stated on September 1st that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized numerous strikes that resulted in the deaths of 11 people on a vessel from Venezuela that was allegedly carrying illegal narcotics. twitter.com/pMJkyAvt2E

Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to carry out the “strikes” on September 2, according to the White House, giving the impression that the mission commander was given the order to launch multiple attacks on the ship if necessary.

Leavitt told a press conference on Monday that Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to carry out these kinetic strikes.

Bradley’s decision to carry out the second strike, according to Leavitt.

“Admiral Bradley performed well within the bounds of the law and his authority. She said: “He directed the engagement to make sure the boat was completely destroyed and the threat of narco-terrorists to the United States was eliminated.”

Why is it important to ask who ordered it?

A second strike, according to experts, was prohibited from killing survivors.

The Trump administration chose to be judge, jury, and executioner rather than having a criminal prosecution, according to Rachel VanLandingham, a military expert at Southwestern Law School, on their own claim that these individuals are having an extrajudicial killing or murder.

It’s a war crime to use that second strike against people who are shipwrecked and clinging desperately to the side of their boat wreckage. Because those shipwrecked have protected status under the law unless they, for example, shot a gun at someone, it constitutes a war crime. They are protected, she continued, but otherwise.

In response to growing pressure over potential US military action against Venezuela, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addressed supporters at a rally in Caracas.

Hong Kong’s leader said an independent committee will be established to investigate the cause of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, which killed at least 151 people and left almost 80 injured.

John Lee, the chief executive of the Chinese-administered region, pledged on Tuesday to overcome vested interests and pursue accountability for the fire, which ripped through seven tower blocks in the Wang Fuk Court housing complex where more than 4,600 people lived in the city’s Tai Po district.

“In order to avoid similar tragedies again, I will set up a judge-led independent committee to examine the reason behind the cause and rapid spreading (of the fire) and related issues,” Lee told reporters.

“We must uncover the truth, ensure that justice is served, let the deceased rest in peace and provide comfort to the living,” he said.

Asked by a reporter why he should continue in his job after such a disaster had unfolded in the city, Lee said reform was needed.

“Yes, we have identified failures in different stages. That is exactly why we must act seriously to ensure that all these loopholes are plugged so that those who are responsible will be accountable,” Lee said.

“The shortcomings will be addressed. The bottlenecks will be addressed and we will reform the whole building renovation system. To ensure that such things will not happen again,” he added.

The fire started last Wednesday afternoon around scaffolding that had been set up at the housing complex for maintenance work on the high-rise buildings.

Authorities suspect high winds and substandard plastic mesh and insulation foam used during the renovations prompted the rapid spread of the blaze, which overwhelmed firefighting efforts.

Lee said those responsible for the renovations had mixed substandard protective netting with authorised netting “so as to cheat the inspection”. Fire alarms at the complex were also not working properly, officials have said.

Residents told of ‘relatively low fire risks’

Investigators have completed their search and examination of all but two of the seven burned-out towers, finding bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames. About 30 people are still missing.

Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people for suspected manslaughter in a growing criminal investigation into the fire, while an anticorruption body has arrested 12 people in probes related to the tragedy.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city’s Labour Department said, including about the potential flammability of the mesh that contractors used to cover the scaffolding.

Tests on several samples of a green mesh that was wrapped around bamboo scaffolding on the buildings at the time of the blaze did not meet fire-retardant standards, officials overseeing the investigations told a news conference on Monday.

The city’s Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan said contractors working on the renovations had used substandard materials in hard-to-reach areas, hiding them from inspectors.

Amid a huge outpouring of grief in the city as well as calls for accountability, local media have reported the arrests of several people who were making this call.

Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old student, was reportedly arrested by police for “seditious intent” after handing out flyers demanding a government review of construction oversight in the city. Kwan was released on Monday, according to reports. Two other people, including a former district councillor, were also taken in by police, according to local media reports.

Hong Kong student Miles Kwan, 24, part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight over a deadly fire at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, left a police station in a taxi on Monday. https://t.co/dcSK6GIbma pic.twitter.com/5E2qNKumDA

Asked about the arrests of people demanding action, Lee said he would “not tolerate any crimes, particularly crimes that exploit the tragedy that we have been facing now”.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements criticising the reported arrests of those calling for accountability.

“Now is the time for the Hong Kong authorities to transparently investigate the causes of the devastating fire … rather than silencing those who ask legitimate questions,” Amnesty International said.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson said authorities in Hong Kong should “not treat those demanding answers for the tragic fire as criminals”.

China’s national security office issued a statement warning those who would use the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019 – when huge pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster’,” the office said in a statement.