In the days following a controversial U.S. military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, the debate over transparency, legality, and military strategy has reached a fever pitch in Washington. At the center of the storm is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has publicly defended the operation while declining to commit to releasing the full video footage of the attack that left two survivors dead. The event, which took place on September 2, 2025, has become a lightning rod for criticism and renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s approach to anti-drug operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on December 6, 2025, Hegseth addressed the growing calls for the release of video evidence from the strike. "We’re reviewing it right now to make sure sources, methods, I mean, it’s an ongoing operation, [tactics, techniques and procedures], we’ve got operators out there doing this right now," Hegseth told Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson, as reported by Nexstar Media. "So, whatever we were to decide to release, we’d have to be very responsible about, we’re reviewing that right now."
The controversy centers on a second strike conducted by U.S. forces after the initial attack disabled the suspected drug vessel off the coast of Venezuela. According to CNN and The Washington Post, after the first strike left the boat overturned but afloat, two shirtless survivors were seen clinging to the wreckage, attempting to flip it back over. The subsequent strike killed both individuals, prompting lawmakers and human rights advocates to question the legality and morality of the action.
On December 3, 2025, President Trump expressed support for releasing the video, telling reporters, "I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem." He added, "Every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives. If you look at our numbers, the drugs coming out through sea are down 91 percent." Trump’s remarks, reported by multiple outlets including CBS and NPR, reflect the administration’s emphasis on the operation’s effectiveness in stemming drug flows to the United States.
Yet, the lack of Congressional approval for the campaign of boat strikes in the Caribbean has drawn bipartisan criticism. As noted by NPR, both Democrats and some Republicans have challenged the administration’s unilateral approach. Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was among those who viewed the classified video of the September 2 attack. Himes told CBS’s Face the Nation, "There’s a certain amount of sympathy out there for going after drug runners, but I think it’s really important that people see what it looks like when the full force of the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under, just so that they have sort of a visceral feel for what it is that we’re doing."
Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah echoed the call for transparency, stating on CNN’s State of the Union, "I haven’t seen it, so I really don’t know what’s classified and what’s not. But I just feel like, let’s err on the side of transparency. The more we can give them that information, the more comfortable they’re going to feel, and that’s actually one of the ways we’re going to restore trust in government."
Lawmakers’ concerns have been fueled by reports in The Washington Post that Hegseth allegedly gave a spoken directive to kill everyone on the boat. Hegseth has forcefully denied these claims, dismissing the reporting as "just patently ridiculous" and accusing the newspaper of creating a "cartoon" version of his decision-making. He insisted the survivors "could still be in the fight" and might have had access to radios to coordinate with other drug-carrying vessels, as detailed by congressional staff who watched the video or were briefed on it.
During his remarks at the Reagan Forum, Hegseth defended the actions taken by the military, saying, "If you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you." He added that he "fully" supports the strike, which was ordered by Admiral Frank Bradley, and stated, "I would have made the same call myself." Hegseth also drew a comparison to a separate incident on October 16, 2025, when the U.S. military attacked a semi-submersible suspected of smuggling drugs. In that case, two survivors were returned to their home countries, which he cited as evidence that protocols had not changed but that circumstances differ from case to case.
The legal debate has intensified as lawmakers and observers note that the laws of armed conflict forbid targeting enemies who have been shipwrecked and are out of the fight. The question of whether the second strike constituted a war crime has become a flashpoint. On December 4, 2025, Navy Admiral Frank Bradley and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine briefed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the details surrounding the September strikes, according to CNN and The Washington Post. Key lawmakers were shown footage of the incident, which reportedly depicted the survivors’ failed attempt to right the overturned vessel before the fatal second strike.
In the broader geopolitical context, the Trump administration’s hardline stance has ratcheted up tensions with Venezuela. On December 6, 2025, AFP reported that the Venezuelan army swore in 5,600 new soldiers as the country faced mounting pressure from the United States. President Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of complicity in drug trafficking, a charge the Venezuelan government has vehemently denied, while condemning U.S. military operations in the region.
For now, the Defense Department continues to review the video for possible release. Hegseth has emphasized that any decision must weigh the risks to ongoing operations and the need to safeguard intelligence sources and methods. "We’ve got operators out there doing this right now, so whatever we were to decide to release, we would have to be very responsible about, so we’re reviewing that right now," Hegseth reiterated at the Reagan Forum, as reported by NPR.
The controversy has exposed deep divisions in Washington over the use of military force in anti-drug operations, the balance between national security and transparency, and the ethical boundaries of warfare. As lawmakers, administration officials, and the public await a decision on the video’s release, the incident remains a stark reminder of the complexities and consequences of modern military engagements far from home.
