Two senators from the Mountain West are among those seeking more information about U.S. strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in recent weeks.
Lawmakers on the bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee, including senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Mark Kelly of Arizona, have pushed for more transparency about the attacks.
During a White House Cabinet meeting Tuesday with the press, War Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a decision to strike a single Venezuelan boat twice on Sept. 2.
“I watched that first strike live, as you can imagine at the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do. So, I didn't stick around,” said Hegseth.
Hegseth said he went to another meeting and, later, Navy Admiral Frank Bradley had the authority – and gave the order – to sink the boat and “eliminate the threat.”
There were allegedly survivors when the second strike was ordered.
Kelly questioned on a Sunday news program whether the incident could be considered quote a “war crime.”
On MS Now, Rosen called for more transparency about the strikes.
“We just don’t go shooting boats up in the middle of any ocean,” she said. "I’m not sure what the hell he’s thinking but it’s not making us any safer, it’s not making us any stronger and it’s not making America any more respected around the world.”
Kelly told reporters that the strikes could be deemed a war crime if survivors were targeted.
Bradley is expected to speak to the Armed Services Committee, in a classified briefing later this week.
