LOS ANGELES (OC).–Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told CBS News “Face the Nation” Margaret Brennan that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike on a drug boat Sept. 2, killing two remaining survivors, accusing Hegseth of committing war crimes. Citing a Nov. 28 Washington Post report, an anonymous source said Hegseth was quoted as saying “kill them all,” then ordering a second bombing of the disabled drug-ferrying vessel. Kaine clearly plays Democrat political hack, making more a statement to besmirch President Donald Trump and Hegseth, then discussing the legality of attacks on vessels in international waters. Trump ordered the Pentagon to take the war on drugs literally, telling Hegseth to go after narco-trafficking on the open seas. Trump doesn’t know whether using the Pentagon to go after drug-traffickers is legal because there’s no military threat to the Pentagon.
Hegseth responded to the Washington Post report calling it defamatory and fabricated. Calling the report “fabricated and inflammatory,” Hegseth questioned why the Washington Post report didn’t name the whistleblower making such allegations. President Donald Trump said he had complete confidence in his Defense Secretary, saying he knew nothing about the Washington Post allegations. “I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said. “He said he did not say that and I believe him, 100%,” Trump said, referring to the Post report as fake new. “Kill them all,” reportedly Hegseth said, yet the Washington Post refuses to disclose its anonymous source. That’s the epitome of fake news, making a wild accusations then relying on unnamed sources, something done during the years of the Russian hoax. Where were all the sources about Trump’s alleged ties to the Kremlin?
According to press reports, the Pentagon has attacked 21 vessels in the Caribbean and East Atlantic, killing some 83 people on board. If Democrats wish to make the case that the Pentagon is involved with extrajudicial killing, then they should do it. Filing for injunctive relief in federal court would start the process of stopping the Trump administration from shooting alleged drug smuggling boats out of the war. Drug smuggling is a multibillion dollar international trade, something the U.S. can’t stop, largely because the public has such an insatiable appetite for illicit drugs. If the Trump White House wanted to do something constructive in the war on drugs, they’d ramp up interdiction efforts, anti-drug education and treatment for drug users currently hooked on illicit drugs. Ordering the Pentagon to go after drug smuggling boats on the open seas is a slippery slope for the White House.
Answering questions from the Press about Hegseth reportedly saying “killing them all,” sounds like it’s out of movie, not a conversation by a Cabinet official, let alone the Defense Secretary. “I don’t’ know,” Trump said on Air Force One Nov. 30, answering questions about a second strike on a drug smuggling boat. “I’m going to find out about it. But Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said, refuting the Post story that accused Hegseth of ordering the second strike. “We’ll look into it, but no, I wouldn’t have wanted that, not a second strike,” Trump said, suggesting he approved the first strike. White House lawyers need to look carefully into the legality of shooting at non-combatant vessels in open seas. Trump has the war on drugs conflated with military combat. Congress and other have a duty to determine the legality of such actions.
Trump met with his Cabinet to discuss ongoing military operation in the Caribbean with Venezuela. Trump claims he spoke directly with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hoping to avert any further military action on the ground to stop Venezuela’s role in drug trafficking. White House officials have accused Maduro of leading a drug Cartel in Venezuela but Maduro is not involved in the manufacture of Fentanyl. Possibly cocaine that largely comes from Colombia and Bolivia. So, whatever role, if any, Maduro has in Venezuela’s drug trade, Trump doesn’t have a very strong case, certainly not one to start a ground war or start striking suspected drug labs. About all else, Trump would like to see Maduro open up his markets to U.S oil ompanies, not blackball the U.S. oil industry. Instead of escalating war rhetoric, Trump should find common ground with Caracas.
Whatever beef Trump has with Maduro, he needs to focus on de-escalating the rhetoric, especially with special envoy Steve Witkoff meeting with Putin to get consensus over ending the Ukraine War. It doesn’t help Trump’s legacy or in Nobel Peace Prize hopes to start a ground war in Venezuela. Trump has a real shot to finally get his peace deal in Ukraine, largely because Ukraine’s President Voloodymr Zelensky has dwindling options. Zelensky was told by the European Union that it doesn’t have the cash left to keep funding the war with Kremlin. Without EU and U.S. funding, Zelensky knows he lacks the resources to keep going. Zelensky hoped that his friends in the EU would use frozen Russian assets to continue funding the war. Objections in Belgium and other EU countries have killed that option. So, Zelensky looks more inclined toward Trump’s peace plan.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
