US orders second strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boat, White House confirms

A top US Navy commander ordered a second round of military strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat, the White House confirmed on December 1, setting off a political and legal storm over whether US forces targeted survivors of an initial attack. 

The decision made by Admiral Frank Bradley occurred after two people reportedly remained alive and clinging to the burning vessel, according to media reports that have prompted bipartisan demands for congressional investigations, Caliber.Az reports via BBC.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bradley’s actions, saying he acted “well within his authority and the law.” She acknowledged that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised the operation but rejected a Washington Post claim that he gave any directive to “kill everybody.”

Leavitt declined to confirm whether the first strike left survivors or whether the second attack was intended to kill them.  

“President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war,” she said during the briefing.

Hegseth has condemned allegations that he ordered indiscriminate lethal force, calling them “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.” On December 1, he publicly backed Bradley, writing that Admiral Bradley “is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support.”

"I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since."

The September 2 incident is one of several deadly US operations carried out in recent weeks as part of what the administration describes as an anti-narcotics campaign in the Caribbean. The US has expanded its military presence near Venezuela and Colombia, launching multiple lethal strikes in international waters that have left more than 80 people dead since early September. The administration argues these operations are acts of self-defence against vessels transporting illicit drugs toward the US.

But the campaign has deepened tensions with Venezuela, whose National Assembly on November 30 condemned the strikes and vowed a “rigorous and thorough investigation.” Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Trump’s allegations against Caracas stem from “great envy” of the country’s natural resources and urged direct dialogue “to clear the toxic atmosphere we have witnessed since July of last year.”

US domestic scrutiny is also intensifying. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed alarm at reports that a second strike targeted survivors. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced it would conduct “vigorous oversight to determine the facts,” and chairman Senator Roger Wicker said lawmakers plan to interview “the admiral that was in charge of the operation” and secure audio and video recordings “to see what the orders were.” The House Armed Services Committee has also launched a bipartisan effort to obtain a full accounting.

Senior military leaders have briefed both committees on the “intent and legality of missions to disrupt illicit trafficking networks.” Multiple international law experts told the BBC that attacking survivors could violate Geneva Convention protections for shipwrecked sailors or incapacitated combatants. The administration argues the operations fall under a non-international armed conflict with designated narco-terrorist groups.

The dispute comes amid heightened US–Venezuela tensions following a reported phone call in which Trump urged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign and leave the country. US officials continue to accuse Maduro of involvement in the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” claims he denies.

By Sabina Mammadli