HEGSETH order on first Caribbean boat strike: ‘Kill them all,’ officials say

Sunday, November 30, 2025 -A recent report has ignited outrage after alleging that Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense, ordered a missile strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea — and instructed forces to “kill everybody” aboard. 

According to sources, even after the initial attack left two people clinging to the burning wreckage, a second strike was ordered — killing the survivors.

The attack on September 2 was the first in what the administration calls a campaign against narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. 

But the follow‑up strike — targeting individuals no longer posing an apparent threat — has prompted fierce criticism from legal experts who argue the operation violates both domestic law and international humanitarian law.

In response, major oversight bodies in Congress, including the Senate Armed Services Committee, have launched investigations to determine the legality and chain of command behind the strike and subsequent orders. 

Meanwhile, the Pentagon defends the strikes as lawful — claiming they target members of a “designated terrorist organization” linked to narcotrafficking — but the lack of full evidence and transparency has deepened public concern about potential extrajudicial killings and war‑crime allegations.