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A bombshell report in The Washington Post has accused Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of ordering a follow-up strike on a Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat in September that allegedly killed survivors of an initial assault. The story claims the second strike was carried out to leave no one alive, a charge that, if true, would be explosive and deeply troubling.
President Trump stood squarely behind Hegseth on the matter, telling reporters he “believes him 100%” and insisting the secretary denied giving any order to target survivors. Trump also made clear he would not have wanted a second strike aimed at people already incapacitated, while praising the broader mission against narco-traffickers.
The Pentagon has pushed back against the WaPo narrative, calling the account false and pointing to official denials, and Hegseth himself blasted the report as “fake news” aimed at discrediting brave men and women fighting to protect American streets. We should demand documents and testimony, but we should also be skeptical of anonymous-sourced hit pieces that seek to kneecap an administration’s defense of the homeland.
Still, members of both parties are rightly demanding oversight, with senators and representatives warning the alleged actions could amount to violations of the laws of armed conflict if verified. This is where conservative principles of rule of law and accountability matter most: defend our troops, defend the mission, but investigate any credible claim of wrongdoing rather than letting media sensationalism set the agenda.
Let’s put this in perspective for hardworking Americans whose families are being torn apart by fentanyl and cartel violence: these strikes were part of an aggressive campaign to stop drugs and save lives, a mission the White House says has materially reduced the flow of narcotics by sea. If critics want to moralize from ivory towers in Georgetown, remind them that every day men and women are dying from cartel poison while Washington debates nuance and optics.
The right course is straightforward — full congressional oversight, release of the relevant operational records, and sworn testimony under penalty of perjury so the public can know exactly what happened on Sept. 2 and thereafter. But while we demand transparency, patriotic Americans should reject the reflexive rush to condemn a leader and his warriors on the basis of anonymous leaks and partisan headlines; defend the effort to choke off the cartel pipeline and hold bad actors accountable when real evidence emerges.
