U.S. forces have killed 80 in narco-strikes in the Caribbean. (@SecWar via X)
Fox News has not independently verified the Post’s reporting.
Some lawmakers cast doubt on the account and stressed they have not been briefed on any order resembling what was described.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired Air Force brigadier general who has criticized Pentagon leadership on unrelated issues, said he is skeptical such an order would have been issued.
RUBIO PROMISES MORE STRIKES ON VENEZUELAN CARTELS: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO SIT BACK ANYMORE’
"Secretary of Defense Hegseth denies it. We should get to the truth," Bacon said on ABC. "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. So, I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that because it would go against common sense."
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, the former House Intelligence Committee chairman, made a similar point Sunday.
"If that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act," he said on CBS, adding that the claim "is completely outside of anything that’s been discussed with Congress."
The Post reported that the Sept. 2 operation — the first in a string of high-tempo strikes targeting alleged Venezuelan and Colombian narcotics networks — left two survivors clinging to the wreckage before a follow-on munition was employed. The Pentagon publicly reported that 11 suspected narco-traffickers were killed in the incident.
Hegseth issued a forceful denial of the story, calling it "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory."
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said over the weekend that nothing resembling the reported follow-on strike has been described in congressional after-action briefings to date. (X.com/SecWar)
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Since September, U.S. forces have conducted at least two dozen strikes against alleged maritime narcotics traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing roughly 80 individuals linked — according to the administration — to designated Venezuelan and Colombian criminal organizations. Senior officials have argued the operations are necessary to disrupt what they describe as "narco-terrorist" groups with ties to Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The escalated tempo comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Maduro.
President Donald Trump warned in the past week that commercial airlines "should consider Venezuela’s airspace closed," a directive that aviation and defense analysts note could precede strikes deeper into Venezuelan territory if the administration believes Maduro-aligned groups pose an expanding threat.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawmakers-skeptical-alleged-hegseth-kill-orders-venezuela-issue-stark-warning