The Washington Post reported on 28/11 that during a missile attack on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean in early September, two survivors clung to the damaged, burning boat.

Following orders from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Admiral Mitch Bradley, head of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM), then directed continued strikes on the boat. The aim was to ensure the survivors could not contact accomplices for rescue or to retrieve their cargo.

"The order was to destroy all," Secretary Hegseth commanded, according to two sources familiar with the incident. The boat was initially believed to be carrying 11 people.

This "double strike" resulted in the deaths of these two individuals, and the boat sank to the bottom of the sea.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a visit to the Dominican Republic on 26/11. *AFP*

In a separate, later attack, two individuals on a suspected drug boat also survived but were airlifted to a US Navy vessel. These two were later repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia, despite some legal experts suggesting they could have been prosecuted in federal court for drug trafficking.

If verified, it remains unclear why there was a discrepancy in the US military's actions in these two cases involving survivors after the initial strike.

SOCOM has not yet commented on this information.

An individual familiar with the incident on 2/9 confirmed to ABC News that survivors from the initial boat strike were killed in the subsequent attack.

"The Department of Defense has not responded to this information and declined further comment," a Pentagon spokesperson stated on 28/11.

However, Secretary Hegseth later commented on social media platform X that US "highly effective" strikes are aimed at "lethal attacks."

"The idea we have declared is to stop that deadly flow of drugs, destroy drug boats, and kill the terrorists – drug criminals who are poisoning the American people. All drug traffickers we have eliminated are members of terrorist organizations," Hegseth wrote.

Image of the US military attack on a drug boat in the Caribbean on 2/9. *WP*

At least 83 people have died in over 20 US-led "drug boat" strikes since the operation began in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in September. Critics of President Donald Trump's administration and some legal experts question the legality of these attacks.

According to the Geneva Conventions, wounded or sick individuals in conflict must be received and cared for by both sides. International law strictly prohibits killing wounded soldiers or prisoners of war during combat.

President Trump and his senior advisors stated that US intelligence clearly showed these boats were trafficking drugs. They argued the attacks were legal because Trump had designated drug gangs as "foreign terrorist organizations," and the US was in a state of war with such groups.

However, many legal experts contend that this argument is unprecedented and that the US should rely on law enforcement, rather than the military, to interdict and seize drugs and arrest suspects, instead of eliminating them at sea.

By Huyen Le (According to Washington Post, ABC News)