Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who currently serves as the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), denied during congressional testimony on Thursday that War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a follow-up strike on “survivors” of an airstrike on an drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean back in September.
Bradley, a decorated former Navy SEAL with more than 30 years of service, participated in closed-door hearing before the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees on the ongoing operations against drug-trafficking organizations.
The hearing comes on the heels of a debunked, anonymously-sourced Washington Post story in which unnamed military lawyers and personnel claimed that Hegseth gave a “kill them all” order during a September 2 strike. Bradley explicitly denied receiving any “kill them all,” “no quarter,” or explicit order from Hegseth to eliminate all survivors on the targeted boat.
Instead, he described receiving a detailed written directive authorizing kinetic strikes against the vessel and its occupants as legitimate threats under the rules of engagement, without specific protocols for handling survivors.
The closed-door briefings included the screening of video footage of the second strike, which Democrat lawmakers described as “horrific” and “deeply troubling.” Democrats have repeatedly accused U.S. servicemembers and the Trump Administration of “war crimes” for targeting drug-trafficking vessels loaded with deadly drugs like fentanyl, which kill tens of thousands of Americans on a yearly basis.
Republicans like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) defended the action as lawful and justified within the “fog of war,” while Democrats such as Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) called it one of the most “disturbing” events of his career in Washington. Himes painted a sympathetic view of the shipwrecked drug traffickers and called for the public release of the footage, something President Trump has endorsed.
The hearing is part of escalating congressional inquiries into the broader U.S. campaign against drug boats near Venezuela, which has involved over 20 strikes and 83 deaths since September. President Trump has hinted that land-based strikes against Venezuelan drug-trafficking organizations could begin in the coming days.
ABC News on Wednesday reported that the two drug-traffickers — whom Democrats and media allies are referring to as “shipwrecked sailors” — were still in communication with fellow traffickers and were attempting to salvage some of the drugs. This, according to Republican lawmakers, meant that the traffickers were “still in the fight.”
