Lawmakers Clash Over Deadly US Drug-Boat Strike as Military Executes 22nd Operation in War on Drugs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Overnight, the U.S. military announced another strike against suspected drug smugglers. This most recent operation took place in the Eastern Pacific, marking the 22nd U.S. strike. It comes in the midst of controversy over a September strike that killed two survivors.

Thursday, the Admiral in charge, Frank Bradley, testified in two separate closed-door hearings, during which lawmakers watched the still-classified video of that attack, coming away with very different opinions.

"What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service.You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, who are killed by the United States," Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) told reporters after seeing the video of the operation for the first time.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) says four missiles were used in total, all of them justified. "I didn't see anything disturbing about it...The first strike, the second strike, and the third and the fourth strike on September 2 were entirely lawful and needful, and they were exactly what we would expect our military commanders to do."

According to sources familiar with Adm. Bradley's testimony, nearly an hour passed between the first strike and the second, which killed the two survivors. The entire command center discussed how to proceed.

The admiral also set the record straight: There was NO order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on the boat.

Investigations into the strike are likely to continue, and Democrats are pressing President Trump to release the video to the public, something he's already said he's willing to do. "I don't know what they have, but whatever they have we'd certainly release, no problem. You know...every boat we knock out we save 25,000 American lives," Trump said.

He says the strikes at sea are just the beginning in the administration's war against international cartels flooding the U.S. with deadly drugs.

"We're gonna start doing those strikes on land, too. You know the land is much easier. It's much easier. And we know the routes they take, we know everything about 'em. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live," the President said during a Cabinet meeting this week.
 
He said the land strikes would begin soon, but didn't give any further details on a timeline. He did warn that any country involved in making or selling drugs is subject to attack.