Trump says Hegseth told him he didn't order killing of boat crew

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Trump says Hegseth told him he didn’t order killing of boat crew

The president also said he would not have wanted a second strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs, which occurred after U.S. forces realized the initial attack left two survivors, as The Post reported.

November 30, 2025 at 8:33 p.m. EST Yesterday at 8:33 p.m. EST
5 min


President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office in August. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Mariana Alfaro, Alex Horton and Noah Robertson

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has “great confidence” that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give a spoken order to kill all crew members aboard a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea in September. ... Trump said Hegseth told him “he did not say that, and I believe him, 100 percent.”

During an attack on a boat on Sept. 2 — the opening salvo in the Trump administration’s war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere — a live drone feed showed two survivors from an original crew of 11 clinging to the wreckage of their boat after an initial missile attack, The Washington Post reported Friday afternoon.

To comply with a spoken order from Hegseth to kill everyone, the Special Operations commander overseeing the mission ordered a second strike that killed the two survivors, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. Those people, along with five others in the original report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

Trump said he would look into the issue. “I wouldn’t have wanted that. Not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine,” the president told reporters.

{snip}

Ellen Nakashima, Aaron Schaffer and Victoria Bisset contributed to this report.

By Mariana Alfaro
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/mariana-alfaro/
Mariana Alfaro is a reporter for The Washington Post's breaking political news team. She joined The Post in 2019. She can be reached via Signal at mariana_alfaro.10.follow on X@marianaa_alfaro

By Alex Horton
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/alex-horton/
Alex Horton is a national security reporter for The Washington Post focused on the U.S. military. He served in Iraq as an Army infantryman. Send him secure tips on Signal at alexhorton.85follow on X@AlexHortonTX

By Noah Robertson
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/noah-robertson/
Noah Robertson joined the Washington Post in 2025, where he covers the core national security committees in Congress. He previously covered the Pentagon and American politics from gun control to policing. follow on X@noahjrobertson

[Irish_Dem]

1. Does the US military now understand Hegseth and Trump will throw them under the bus?

And deny they ordered the murders of innocent fishermen?

[rampartd]

3. i'm just happy that he seems to understand this is crime against humanity level stuff.

i expected a "double down" of "yea and i want more of these horrible drug traffickers and pedophiles, cause we all hate pedophiles don't we folks and you are a very stupid person from a failed network ...."

[Irish_Dem]

4. He only understands the press is bad.

And they will have to lie their way out of this mess.

But they love killing people and do not see it as a crime.

[pfitz59]

2. Liars

There are witnesses, and likely recordings.

[Irish_Dem]

5. The report is that Hegseth gave a verbal direct order to kill to one general.

The general passed the order down the command chain.

Whether the general recorded the message or not, we don't know.

So it is most likely going to be the general's word against Hegseth's?

[global1]

6. And We're Going To Believe These Two Consummate Liars?.....nt

[The Madcap]

7. Whiskey Pete probably ordered it on Signal

So T**** is possibly right sbout him not "saying" the words to kill. Still illegal, though.

[Norrrm]

8. Will Trump/Hegseth charge and punish their lower levels for the crime?

It is so serous that they deny personal responsibility.

[mwmisses4289]

9. Is this the point where the rest of us gather in a circle,

dance around them with pointing fingers and chant or sing "Liar, liar, pants on fire"?

[mike_c]

10. apparently it's established an admiral gave...

...the proximal order on site to kill survivors in the water. That officer certainly knows the illegality of the order, and that naval commanders have been executed or imprisoned for identical offenses. So does that admiral want to fall on his sword for pretty boy Hegseth? Although I'm not sure it really matters. The naval officers involved are just as culpable, IMO. They knew better.