Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump's military
strikes on boats
[December 01, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support
congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected
of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean,
citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a
verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2
attack.
The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week's Washington Post
report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said
attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal
concerns.
“This rises to the level of a war crime if it's true,” said Sen. Tim
Kaine, D-Va.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at
people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information
that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in
both the House and Senate have opened investigations.
“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree
that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to
Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed
that he had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at
cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is
weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.
Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first
reported by The New York Times.
“I wouldn’t say it went well or badly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air
Force One, when asked about the call.
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a
request for comment about the call with Trump.
Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels
that the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the
allegation regarding the Sept. 2 attack “is completely outside anything
that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing
investigation.”
The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the
administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the
U.S. On Saturday, Trump said the airspace “above and surrounding”
Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion
that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Maduro. Maduro's
government accused Trump of making a ”colonial threat” and seeking to
undermine the South American country’s sovereignty.
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After the Post's report, Hegseth said Friday on X that “fake news is
delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting
to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the
homeland.”
"Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S.
and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law
of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian
lawyers, up and down the chain of command," Hegseth wrote.
Trump said on Sunday the administration “will look into” the matter
but added, “I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” The
president also defended Hegseth.
“Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said.
He added, “And I believe him.”
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen.
Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late Friday that the committee
“will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts
related to these circumstances.”
That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and the
ranking Democratic member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a
joint statement saying the panel was committed to “providing
rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military
operations in the Caribbean.”
“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged
to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking
bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in
question,” Rogers and Smith said, referring to U.S. Southern
Command.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth
deserves a chance to present his side.
“We should get to the truth. I don’t think he would be foolish
enough to make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the
survivors because that’s a clear violation of the law of war,” Bacon
said. “So, I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like
that because it would go against common sense.”
Kaine and Turner appeared on CBS' “Face the Nation," and Bacon was
on ABC's “This Week."
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