Pentagon chief faces travel budget cut over delay in releasing boat-strike video

A newly updated version of the annual U.S. defence policy bill includes a provision that could restrict Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s official travel next year unless he hands over unedited footage of recent military strikes in the Caribbean.

The legislation, unveiled on December 7, will be taken up by Congress this week, Caliber.Az reports, citing U.S. media.

While the National Defence Authorisation Act outlines policy priorities for the Pentagon, it does not provide the funding itself — that comes through appropriations. 

The latest draft includes language that would cap Hegseth’s travel budget at no more than 75% until he “provides to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organisations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command.”

It remains uncertain whether the bill can clear amendment votes. Still, the push marks the latest attempt by lawmakers to apply oversight to U.S. strikes in the region — operations that have sharply divided both chambers.

The provision stems from intense scrutiny over two strikes carried out on September 2 against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have raised concerns that the second strike — which killed survivors of the initial attack — could constitute a war crime.

According to the White House, Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley, then commander of Joint Special Operations Command, ordered the follow-up strike on a boat coming from Venezuela that was allegedly transporting narcotics.

NBC News reported that Bradley told members of Congress that intelligence had confirmed that all 11 individuals on the vessel were lawful targets. An administration official said in a written statement that a uniformed judge advocate general provided legal guidance “every step of the way.”

Questioned on December 8 about his earlier suggestion that he had “no problem” with releasing video from the second strike, President Donald Trump rejected the characterisation. “I didn’t say that — that’s — you said that, I didn’t say that,” he told reporters. Asked about Hegseth’s comments that the footage remained under review, Trump added: “Whatever he decides is OK with me.”

The strikes in early September are part of a broader campaign: on December 4, the Pentagon disclosed the 22nd known U.S. strike on alleged narcotics-carrying boats in recent months. Those operations have killed at least 86 people. The administration has repeatedly argued the targeted vessels were moving along established drug routes, though it has not provided evidence to support those claims.

By Aghakazim Guliyev