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Lawmakers Support Probe of Boat Strikes12/01 06:17
Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews
of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the
Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed
as part of a Sept. 2 attack.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support
congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of
smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a
published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for
all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.
The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week's Washington Post
report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking
survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.
"This rises to the level of a war crime if it's true," said Sen. Tim Kaine,
D-Va.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at
people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that
happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the
House and Senate have opened investigations.
"Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that
that would be an illegal act," Turner said.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to
Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed that he
had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro.
The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at
cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is
weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.
Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first reported
by The New York Times.
"I wouldn't say it went well or badly," Trump told reporters aboard Air
Force One, when asked about the call.
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a
request for comment about the call with Trump.
Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that
the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the allegation
regarding the Sept. 2 attack "is completely outside anything that has been
discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation."
The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the
administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. On
Saturday, Trump said the airspace "above and surrounding" Venezuela should be
considered as "closed in its entirety," an assertion that raised more questions
about the U.S. pressure on Maduro. Maduro's government accused Trump of making
a "colonial threat" and seeking to undermine the South American country's
sovereignty.
After the Post's report, Hegseth said Friday on X that "fake news is
delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit
our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."
"Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and
international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed
conflict--and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down
the chain of command," Hegseth wrote.
Trump said on Sunday the administration "will look into" the matter but
added, "I wouldn't have wanted that -- not a second strike." The president also
defended Hegseth.
"Pete said he did not order the death of those two men," Trump said. He
added, "And I believe him."
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in
a joint statement late Friday that the committee "will be conducting vigorous
oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances."
That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and the ranking Democratic
member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a joint statement saying the panel
was committed to "providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense's
military operations in the Caribbean."
"We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be
ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to
gather a full accounting of the operation in question," Rogers and Smith said,
referring to U.S. Southern Command.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth
deserves a chance to present his side.
"We should get to the truth. I don't think he would be foolish enough to
make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors because that's a
clear violation of the law of war," Bacon said. "So, I'm very suspicious that
he would've done something like that because it would go against common sense."
Kaine and Turner appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," and Bacon was on ABC's
"This Week."
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