Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Source: WaPo, No Paywall, Registration Required
As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretarys order to leave no survivors.
The alleged traffickers pose no imminent threat of attack against the United States and are not, as the Trump administration has tried to argue, in an armed conflict with the U.S., these officials and experts say. Because there is no legitimate war between the two sides, killing any of the men in the boats amounts to murder, said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign.
Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boats occupants if they were no longer able to fight would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime, said Huntley, now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), a Marine Corps veteran and vocal Trump critic who received a classified briefing from Pentagon officials on the strikes in late October with other members of the House Armed Services Committee said, Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder.
Read more: https://wapo.st/49KbUJ1
sueh
(1,930 posts)BlueWaveNeverEnd
(12,309 posts)mcar
(45,533 posts)The killing of survivors of torpedoed/sunken enemy ships was a war crime in WW2. Ask the Nazis Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, Kapitänleutnant Heinz Eck, and Korvettenkapitän Karl-Heinz Moehle.
Kapitänleutnant Heinz Eck was sentenced to death for his crimes
I was just following orders, wont get you far in a war crimes trial
Sedona
(3,847 posts)TSF will just pardon anyone he can.
drray23
(8,541 posts)I do not believe for a second our country will do the right thing after we wrestle control of it back from Trump and MAGATS. There will be so much stuff to do to rebuild it that this will be very low in the priority list. Dozens of people will get away for war crimes, corruption and other crimes.
Hugin
(37,197 posts)Theres no justification possible for an action such as this. I am going to guess that some, such as Kelly were aware of it and thats why they made the video. Tantrum Tito and Kegsbreaths subsequent actions were trying to get out in front of it because they knew it was eventually going to come out.
I doubt this was an isolated incident. There were reports of survivors on subsequent strikes being picked up and whisked off. What is their status?
BattleRow
(2,057 posts)popsdenver
(1,158 posts)The Nuremberg Court and trials.........
I guess those SEAL TEAM SIX members thought it was a LAWFUL ORDER/????? BULLSHIT
My opinion of the U.S. Navy Seals has now hit the bottom of the barrel............
All of those involved in the U.S. Navy who participated in any of this, should be court marshaled,
And Trump, His CABAL, Republican Senators, and Republican House Members as well as the Republicans on the U.S. Supreme Court should all be rounded up and sent to the Hague.....
And all of them, all the way up to Trump can't use the excuse 'I was just following orders".....all the NAZI's tried claiming that........and it didn't work.......
D. Spaulding
(434 posts)anyone have one where the article can be read?
Ms. Toad
(38,023 posts)But it does require a free account.
Go to archive.li and paste the URL and it will let you see it without providing an email address.
IronLionZion
(50,485 posts)You can plug any URL into this site and see if it has been archived, or create an archive.
reACTIONary
(6,874 posts)... this sort or enterprise investigative reporting not only is costly, it is increasingly risky and dangerous. Give them some support and sign up for a "free" account.
IronLionZion
(50,485 posts)Justice matters.
(9,159 posts)Will it be the same as in the past 25 years with the "looking forward, not backward" excuse for doing nothing again?
Candidates running for office should be asked specifically about that and be held accountable if not delivered.
Irish_Dem
(78,301 posts)This is first degree murder.
reACTIONary
(6,874 posts)Irish_Dem
(78,301 posts)GB_RN
(3,478 posts)While it probably cant be tried as a war crime, Im betting it could go down as a crime against humanity or crime against peace (if the latter is still used).
Irish_Dem
(78,301 posts)Bayard
(28,007 posts)"Just following orders," is not going to get it. I'm glad Sen. Kelly and company made their video.
reACTIONary
(6,874 posts)Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. The order was to kill everybody, one of them said.
The elite counterterror group SEAL Team 6 led the attack, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing sensitive operations.
SEAL Team 6, known formally as Naval Special Warfare Development Group and under JSOC command, conducted the intelligence collection and targeting for this attack and several others, according to two people.
If the video of the blast that killed the two survivors on Sept. 2 were made public, people would be horrified, said one person who watched the live feed.
In briefing materials provided to the White House, JSOC reported that the double-tap, or follow-on strike, was intended to sink the boat and remove a navigation hazard to other vessels not to kill survivors, according to another person who saw the report.
In subsequent strikes on alleged traffickers that left no survivors, the U.S. military has also fired multiple missiles to remove boats from the waterways, several people familiar with the matter said.
Bayard
(28,007 posts)That needs to be leaked forthwith. Thanks for this info.
Justice matters.
(9,159 posts)Less victims but still a similar cover up attempt with lies?
El Mimbreno
(815 posts)include removal of moral judgement?
lapfog_1
(31,486 posts)but EVEN if these men were legitimate enemy combatants and HAD fired on US Navy forces before their boat was blown up...
I think it is still a war crime to execute them while they are holding onto pieces of their blown up boat.
Fil1957
(432 posts)war crime. Even the destruction of the submarine which likely WAS transporting drugs is murder and a war crime.
Hope he and the other sick bastards responsible for these crimes get serious prison time. It's the only way this murderous madness is going to stop.
Attilatheblond
(7,919 posts)Just like abusing people in the US until somebody fights back and he declares it's an insurrection and gets him magic powers to just kill people.
The GOP better face reality and impeach/convict the lot of this administration NOW.
Mr. Evil
(3,421 posts)when someone is given a title or position of power, usually one of the first things they do is inflict pain and suffering. In Kegsbreath's case... death. Why? History has borne this out. When was the last time anyone was given a title or position of power and they immediately began to do great beneficial things? One thing I've learned is that you never give a drunk and/or rapist a position of power.
This is our Secretary of Defense.
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1w2pu7.img?w=1200&h=675&m=4&q=89
Did good things. I believe Biden did too.
Gimpyknee
(962 posts)ZDU
(939 posts)Attilatheblond
(7,919 posts)And the military is OK with this? Blackest day for the US in a very long time.
Off to the Hague for the lot of them!
Aviation Pro
(15,122 posts)Murder charges and no immunity for you, you tabless, fucking, failed infantry officer.
And I wouldnt count on a pardon from the Couch Fucker after the fucking pedophile goes horizontal.
Norrrm
(3,564 posts)We have plenty of military muscle to capture these boats without killing all on board and destroying all evidence.... If evidence of the drugs exists.

Blues Heron
(8,089 posts)sheshe2
(95,099 posts)Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder.
âMark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder.â
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-11-28T20:37:21.795Z
Evolve Dammit
(21,358 posts)red dog 1
(32,207 posts)Cold blooded murder.
— Just Jack (@just-jack-1.bsky.social) 2025-11-28T23:17:22.118Z
NH Ethylene
(31,270 posts)For following illegal orders.
Evolve Dammit
(21,358 posts)Justice matters.
(9,159 posts)Wiz Imp
(8,379 posts)But it absolutely a Crime Against Humanity.
reACTIONary
(6,874 posts)From the article.....
Wiz Imp
(8,379 posts)It says "Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers...would be a war crime". But the US isn't at war with Venezuela or anyone else whose boats they are blowing up. This is not "armed conflict", It's the US carrying out a massacre of possibly innocent people with no proof that they have done anything wrong. the US is simply attacking boats unprovoked who are not fighting back. It's not clear to me if international courts would call it a war crime , but it is definitely a crime against humanity.
red dog 1
(32,207 posts)That should be considered a War Crime.
https://democraticunderground.com/100220836027
angrychair
(11,563 posts)It's naive to think there is such a thing as "justice" anymore. Only the poor and disenfranchised face "justice". The wealthy and entitled just get pardons and wealth and power.
karynnj
(60,711 posts)fired and tried Hegseth.
This would have to become a much bigger, more negative story than it is now ... But should be. Trump will throw anyone under a buss if he is threatened.
bluedigger
(17,364 posts)There will be no first person testimony in the Hague.
AdamGG
(1,849 posts)Drug smuggling isn't a capital offense and there's no evidence that they're even doing that. Kegsbreath and some others need to end up on trial in the Hague.
Uncle Joe
(63,814 posts)Thanks for the thread reACTIONary
DFW
(59,485 posts)Since they obviously did NOT have concrete proof the everyone on board was a drug trafficker, in case that it turned out that they killed innocent people, even Hegseth must have known that he could be brought in chains to The Hague and jailed for life. Witnesses who can talk represent a mortal danger to everyone involved, from the actual shooters on up to the one who gave the order.
EuterpeThelo
(144 posts)Wasn't it that team that took out OBL?
How far they have fallen to be participating in this blatantly criminal behavior. I weep for our country.
DemMedic
(550 posts)and if it was, they would be the bad guys.