Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is caught in a huge controversy after recent reports alleged that he illegally ordered a “Kill Everybody” strike in the Caribbean. And Trump’s defense of him has put him in more trouble.
The Washington Post reported this week that Hegseth ordered his military to “kill everybody” on a suspected Caribbean boat smuggling drugs on September 2. After the first strike, two people are said to have survived. However, reports are now suggesting that Hegseth then ordered a second strike, which killed those survivors.
When President Donald Trump was asked about the second strike, he accidentally pushed Hegseth under the bus by denying knowing anything about it. Adding to Hegseth’s troubles, when Trump was asked, “Would that be okay if he did,” he replied, “He said he didn’t do it, so I don’t have to make that decision.”
Trump’s denial of knowing about the incident has put him under scrutiny, but more than that, it has increased troubles for Hegseth.
Trump said he wouldn’t have ordered the second strike, putting Hegseth on the pedestal
Reporters also asked Trump if a second strike that killed wounded people would be legal and if he would’ve approved it. To this, he replied, “I wouldn’t have wanted a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine.” This means that Hegseth would be solely held responsible for the extrajudicial killing if the second strike is proved to be true.
The two survivors of the initial strike posed no threat, which makes the second strike illegal and amounts to extrajudicial killing. Because of this, Hegseth is now being accused of having committed a war crime. Trump also did not deny the alleged strike and said, “We’ll look into it.”
However, he backed the secretary, saying, “He said he did not say that and I believe him 100%,” referring to the “kill everybody” order.
Hegseth claims the report to be “fake news,” Congress orders probe
Hegseth responded to the report on Friday evening, calling it “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting.” In the X post, he asserted that the series of strikes was “lawful under both US and international law.” Hegseth also claimed that these strikes were always intended to be “lethal, kinetic strikes.” Declaring that nothing has gone against the “declared intent” of the plan, he wrote:
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 is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.
While Hegseth claimed that every action was “approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” it doesn’t counter the war crime allegations if survivors were intentionally targeted. Even if Trump had ordered the strike, it would’ve still violated the laws of armed conflict since the alleged smugglers were not a state enemy force.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has now begun investigating the boat strikes (via The Guardian). And the important point that Hegseth is missing is that Trump has presidential immunity; he doesn’t. Trump’s recent statements have also only increased the trouble for him, is this how he behaves before putting someone under the bus?
Published: Dec 1, 2025 11:24 am