Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
“The Committee is aware of recent news reports — and the Department of Defense’s initial response — regarding alleged follow-on strikes on suspected narcotics vessels in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” the senators wrote in a joint statement.
“The Committee has directed inquires to the Department, and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to the circumstances,” they added.
The Washington Post, citing sources familiar, reported Friday that Hegseth gave a spoken directive early in the operation to those overseeing the strikes: “Kill everybody.” The first mission in September reportedly required two strikes after the first failed to kill all on board.
Hegseth blasted the reporting as “fake news” and defended the Trump administration’s maneuvers against drug trafficking.
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth wrote Friday evening in a post on social platform X.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people,” he continued. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
The Defense Department has increased its military presence in the Caribbean — primarily near Venezuela — in recent weeks.
Hegseth earlier this month announced “Operation Southern Spear,” the Pentagon’s plan to thwart drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere. The operation is being overseen by a counternarcotics joint task force formed in October and U.S. Southern Command (Southcom).
The U.S. military has carried out over 20 strikes on alleged drug vessels since September, killing more than 80 people deemed to be “narco-terrorists.”
The State Department also moved to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, accusing President Nicolás Maduro of heading a drug trafficking scheme. Maduro signaled he supported peace between his country and the U.S., but said his military is prepared to respond.
While the strikes have just been on boats thus far, President Trump indicated Thursday that the U.S. could soon take action against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers on land. The administration has also argued that Congressional approval is not required in this case as a proper declaration of war is unnecessary.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pressed the Trump administration for more transparency on the military operation as the tensions grow.