Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reacted to a report that he ordered the military to carry out a second strike on a “narco-terrorist” boat to kill survivors of the initial attack, rejecting The Washington Post’s “scoop” as more fake news.
In the Friday report, the once-venerable newspaper turned resistance propaganda organ cited the typical anonymous sources to claim that the Pentagon chief explicitly told the SEAL team to leave no survivors in the September 2 strike on 11 “Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists” after the first strike left two people alive and clinging to the boat’s wreckage.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.…
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 28, 2025
According to the WaPo, Hegseth gave a verbal order to “kill everybody.” The sources claimed that after the second strike, there were bodies “blown apart in the water.” The story was quickly picked up and amplified by other media outlets as the latest hoax narrative took shape.
In a Friday post to X, Hegseth rejected the report as “fake news” and made the case for the decisive action taken by the current administration to eliminate the narcoterrorist threat in the Caribbean compared to the Biden regime.
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth wrote.
As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.
As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 28, 2025
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people,” he continued. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
“The Biden administration preferred the kid gloves approach, allowing millions of people — including dangerous cartels and unvetted Afghans — to flood our communities with drugs and violence,” Hegseth added. “The Trump administration has sealed the border and gone on offense against narco-terrorists. Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them.”
“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,” he concluded. “Our warriors in SOUTHCOM put their lives on the line every day to protect the Homeland from narco-terrorists — and I will ALWAYS have their back.”
“We told the Washington Post that this entire narrative was false yesterday. These people just fabricate anonymously sourced stories out of whole cloth. Fake News is the enemy of the people,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a post to X, smacking down CNN’s Natasha Bertrand.
We told the Washington Post that this entire narrative was false yesterday.
These people just fabricate anonymously sourced stories out of whole cloth.
Fake News is the enemy of the people. https://t.co/CgpNBfb2gf— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) November 29, 2025
It was a story that conveniently comes as the “Seditious Six” group of Democrats has struggled to define the “illegal orders” that they urged military members to disobey if they came from Hegseth and President Donald J. Trump, and lawmakers seized on the reporting to support their extraordinary request to defy the top of the chain of command.
If you want to know why Hegseth is panicking about reminders that there is accountably for giving or carrying out illegal orders, it’s likely because he knows he has given illegal orders to murder people. https://t.co/lchjGpezIH
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 28, 2025
Showing once again how Democrats work hand-in-hand with their media allies, House lawmakers are accusing Hegseth of “war crimes” and vowing investigations.
“If the reports are true, then a war crime was committed,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). “Also, there is generally no statute of limitations for war crimes.”
“This demands Congressional investigation, and the unredacted video of the strike and radio recordings of the orders given need to be shared with Congress and the American people immediately,” declared Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), who warned Hegseth that he’ll be “held accountable for illegal orders you give.”
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