Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Defense Department is reviewing footage of several Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug-smuggling boat off Venezuela to determine whether the video can be released publicly. Officials must weigh whether making the footage available would compromise ongoing missions, he said, noting there are operators currently active in the region.
Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for the footage as scrutiny of the operation and the decisions behind it has intensified. President Trump has said he would be willing to release the full video, though he acknowledged he has not seen its contents. Hegseth said the department will be ‘‘very responsible’’ in deciding what, if anything, to disclose.
Critics have voiced concern that the administration conducted a campaign of boat strikes in the Caribbean without seeking Congressional approval. The Sept. 2 incident drew particular outrage after a second strike targeted crew members who survived the initial attack, raising questions about whether people who no longer posed a threat were killed. Hegseth has said he authorized the first strike and that Adm. Frank M. Bradley approved the follow-up.
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, viewed the video in a briefing with Bradley and told CBS’s Face the Nation that Americans deserve to see how such operations are carried out. Himes said people should be able to see “what it looks like when the full force of the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under.”
Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah told CNN he would ‘‘err on the side of transparency,’’ arguing that public access to facts helps restore trust in government.
The administration has taken a hard line toward Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing his government of complicity in drug trafficking. Venezuela has criticized U.S. military activity in the region; AFP reported the Venezuelan army recently swore in about 5,600 new soldiers amid growing pressure from the United States.
Despite the controversy, Hegseth and other administration officials defended the Caribbean boat-strike campaign as necessary to protect U.S. interests. Hegseth said, “President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation’s interests,” and warned that no country should doubt that resolve.
