Boat at center of “double‑tap” strike controversy was actually headed toward Suriname — not the U.S., admiral says

Saturday, December 6, 2025 -The boat destroyed in the controversial Caribbean strike on September 2, 2025 — previously described as a U.S.-bound drug vessel — was in fact heading to rendezvous with a larger ship bound for Suriname, according to testimony by senior military officials. 

Intelligence gathered by U.S. forces showed the smaller vessel intended to transfer illicit cargo mid‑sea. The larger ship was never located, calling into question the core justification offered at the time for using lethal military force.

This revelation undermines prior public statements that the boat posed an imminent threat to the United States by directly transporting drugs to American shores. Navy Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation, told lawmakers the strike was authorized to prevent eventual trafficking of narcotics even though the vessel was not en route to the U.S. at the time. 

The discrepancy has triggered uproar over whether the use of force was legally and morally justified, particularly because survivors of the first strike were reportedly killed in a follow‑up strike — a tactic critics say could amount to a war crime.

With bipartisan calls for accountability intensifying, lawmakers are demanding full disclosure of the evidence — including video, intelligence assessments, and legal justifications — that spurred the “double‑tap” strike. 

The coming investigations may reshape public and legal understanding of what constitutes legitimate military action in counternarcotics efforts and could set boundaries for when lethal force is permissible in international waters.