US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Faces bipartisan Criticism for Alleged War Crimes in Caribbean.
Senator Ed Markey has labelled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a "war criminal" over reports that he ordered the killing of all crew members, including survivors, aboard an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean. The comment echoes bipartisan concern from Republican-led congressional committees and is the latest development in a growing scandal surrounding Hegseth's actions.
According to reports, drone footage showed that after an initial strike on the vessel, a Special Operations commander was ordered by Hegseth to carry out a second strike to kill everyone on board. However, it is unclear whether Hegseth knew there were survivors before the second strike. The US military has since denied any wrongdoing.
Markey's criticism of Hegseth comes after reports emerged that he had given an order for all crew members to be killed upon encountering a vessel accused of smuggling drugs. This has led some lawmakers to question whether the operation was carried out in accordance with international law.
The Department of Defense has defended the strike, saying it was in line with the US military's laws of armed conflict. However, experts have raised concerns that striking survivors would be a war crime and a violation of international human rights law.
"This is a serious situation," said Senator Tim Kaine. "If true, Hegseth's orders could be illegal." Meanwhile, Senator Chris Van Hollen has also expressed concern, saying that the operation could have been carried out in a way that was more humane.
The White House has backed Hegseth, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that the strike was in accordance with international law. However, lawmakers are demanding greater transparency over the operation and are calling for an investigation into Hegseth's actions.
Senator Ed Markey has labelled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a "war criminal" over reports that he ordered the killing of all crew members, including survivors, aboard an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean. The comment echoes bipartisan concern from Republican-led congressional committees and is the latest development in a growing scandal surrounding Hegseth's actions.
According to reports, drone footage showed that after an initial strike on the vessel, a Special Operations commander was ordered by Hegseth to carry out a second strike to kill everyone on board. However, it is unclear whether Hegseth knew there were survivors before the second strike. The US military has since denied any wrongdoing.
Markey's criticism of Hegseth comes after reports emerged that he had given an order for all crew members to be killed upon encountering a vessel accused of smuggling drugs. This has led some lawmakers to question whether the operation was carried out in accordance with international law.
The Department of Defense has defended the strike, saying it was in line with the US military's laws of armed conflict. However, experts have raised concerns that striking survivors would be a war crime and a violation of international human rights law.
"This is a serious situation," said Senator Tim Kaine. "If true, Hegseth's orders could be illegal." Meanwhile, Senator Chris Van Hollen has also expressed concern, saying that the operation could have been carried out in a way that was more humane.
The White House has backed Hegseth, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that the strike was in accordance with international law. However, lawmakers are demanding greater transparency over the operation and are calling for an investigation into Hegseth's actions.
this whole thing is wild, you know? like, drone footage shows a second strike just to kill everyone on board... that's straight up horrific 
. i'm not surprised though, we've seen some pretty questionable stuff go down in the military for years. and now there are lawmakers actually calling out the sec def for it? 
kudos to them for speaking truth to power, even if it is uncomfortable.
. transparency is key here and lawmakers are right to demand an investigation into this whole thing. we need to hold our leaders accountable for their actions, especially when it comes to something as serious as war crimes.
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I know some ppl are saying he ordered the killin of everyone on that vessel but I dont no if its true or not 
. I mean, what if there were like survivors and he didnt no about it?! 
Its a super complicated situation. But like, even if hes made a mistake, is he really a war criminal?! 
. I wish they would just give us all the facts and not be so secretive about it 
. Anyways, I'll def be keepin an eye on this situation and see what goes down 
I mean, if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth really did order the killing of all crew members on a vessel, including survivors, that's like totally insane! 
It's disgusting.
my heart goes out to those people who lost their lives in that incident... what's going on with our military, can't we just have a clear answer? 
. Can't we learn from the past? Transparency is key here, let's get some answers from the White House or even Pete Hegseth himself...
. And it's not just the fact that people are dead, but also the possibility that they might have been in distress or even surrendered 
. It's like, what would you do if you were in a situation where people were running away from the ship? Would you really just order them to be killed? 
. This isn't about party politics; it's about human rights and basic decency. We should all be demanding answers on this one 
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especially if they werent involved in anything wrong. and another thing, why did Pete Hegseth give the order for all crew members to be killed without knowing if ther wer survivors? that seems so reckless 
i feel bad for the crew who got hurt on that ship and also for Pete Hegseth's family... i hope hes doing okay under this pressure 
i think we need to get to the bottom of this and find out whats really going on.
)
. btw did you know the US spends more on defense than the next 10 countries combined 
$721 billion last year alone! 
and what's with these bipartisan criticisms? 74% of Americans believe the US should not be involved in conflicts abroad, so like, what's the hurry? 