Venezuelan vessel destroyed during U.S. military strike off of Venezuela Sept. 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
The central legal dispute now turns on the condition of the survivors at the time of the second strike. According to ABC News, U.S. personnel believed the two men in the water may have been calling for help, potentially attempting to bring reinforcements. The Pentagon did not respond to Fox news digital's requests for comment.
Under the U.S. Law of War Manual, attacking persons rendered "helpless" due to "wounds, sickness or shipwreck" is explicitly prohibited and described as "dishonorable and inhumane." Shipwrecked individuals are protected unless they resume hostile action or otherwise regain the capacity to pose an immediate threat.
Calling for help does not automatically remove those protections. Legal experts say the key question is whether U.S. forces had credible evidence that the survivors were attempting to direct further hostilities — or whether they were simply clinging to debris and making distress calls.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, left, and Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, right. Hegseth wrote on X that "Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support," and, "I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since." (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu via Getty Images; USSOCOM)
With new reporting that a JAG was physically present, and with legal experts emphasizing that shipwrecked personnel retain protection unless they rejoin the fight, the unresolved issue is what specific intelligence the operations center relied upon when Bradley approved the second strike.
Did the JAG conclude that the survivors had regained the capacity to pose an imminent threat? Did the attorney object? Did the operations team interpret the alleged call for help as an active step toward hostile action?
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Until the Pentagon releases a fuller accounting, the legality of the follow-on strike — and the role of the military lawyer who reportedly witnessed it — remains sharply contested.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/did-military-lawyer-witness-venezuela-double-tap-boat-strike-experts-say-one-should-have