US Military Operated Under Secret List to Target Narco-Terrorists in Caribbean Sea Attack
The US military's operation to kill all 11 people on board a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea was authorized because they were on an internal list of narco-terrorists deemed eligible for lethal targeting, according to Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, the commander overseeing the strike.
Bradley told lawmakers that US intelligence officials confirmed the identities of those on board and validated them as legitimate targets before the military launched airstrikes as part of President Donald Trump's military campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels.
The fact that the 11 people were on an internal list adds another layer to the controversy surrounding the September 2 operation, which has been shrouded in debate over whether a second strike violated international law. The question of whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Bradley direct orders to kill everyone on board remains key to understanding the decision.
According to Adm. Bradley's briefings with lawmakers, Hegseth instructed him to target only those on the approved list, which included everyone on the boat, followed by destroying the drugs and sinking the vessel. However, when a second strike left two survivors in the water, Bradley ordered additional strikes to complete the mission.
Hegseth has defended the decision, saying he observed the operation but did not see survivors. He described it as "the fog of war" and stated that Adm. Bradley made the right call.
During briefings with lawmakers, Adm. Bradley clarified that Hegseth's orders were to target everyone on the approved list, which included those found on board the boat carrying cocaine for a cartel designated by the president as a terrorist organization. He stressed that the mission aimed to disrupt narcoterrorist shipments that threaten Americans and national security interests.
The Pentagon has maintained that 22 strikes on alleged drug boats have killed 86 people, with 11 in the Caribbean Sea and 11 in the eastern Pacific. However, administration officials have provided no evidence supporting allegations about the vessels or those on board.
Adm. Bradley described the operation's timeline and events to lawmakers, revealing that he observed the survivors take off their shirts to check each other for wounds, which indicated they did not appear to be injured. The military also verified that the boat's damage made it unlikely to continue navigating.
However, US intelligence later spotted another larger boat in the area, which was not on the approved target list and therefore could not be struck by Adm. Bradley. He decided against taking action to salvage the damaged vessel with two survivors because there was no positive identification of who was on board the larger boat.
The US military's operation to kill all 11 people on board a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea was authorized because they were on an internal list of narco-terrorists deemed eligible for lethal targeting, according to Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, the commander overseeing the strike.
Bradley told lawmakers that US intelligence officials confirmed the identities of those on board and validated them as legitimate targets before the military launched airstrikes as part of President Donald Trump's military campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels.
The fact that the 11 people were on an internal list adds another layer to the controversy surrounding the September 2 operation, which has been shrouded in debate over whether a second strike violated international law. The question of whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Bradley direct orders to kill everyone on board remains key to understanding the decision.
According to Adm. Bradley's briefings with lawmakers, Hegseth instructed him to target only those on the approved list, which included everyone on the boat, followed by destroying the drugs and sinking the vessel. However, when a second strike left two survivors in the water, Bradley ordered additional strikes to complete the mission.
Hegseth has defended the decision, saying he observed the operation but did not see survivors. He described it as "the fog of war" and stated that Adm. Bradley made the right call.
During briefings with lawmakers, Adm. Bradley clarified that Hegseth's orders were to target everyone on the approved list, which included those found on board the boat carrying cocaine for a cartel designated by the president as a terrorist organization. He stressed that the mission aimed to disrupt narcoterrorist shipments that threaten Americans and national security interests.
The Pentagon has maintained that 22 strikes on alleged drug boats have killed 86 people, with 11 in the Caribbean Sea and 11 in the eastern Pacific. However, administration officials have provided no evidence supporting allegations about the vessels or those on board.
Adm. Bradley described the operation's timeline and events to lawmakers, revealing that he observed the survivors take off their shirts to check each other for wounds, which indicated they did not appear to be injured. The military also verified that the boat's damage made it unlikely to continue navigating.
However, US intelligence later spotted another larger boat in the area, which was not on the approved target list and therefore could not be struck by Adm. Bradley. He decided against taking action to salvage the damaged vessel with two survivors because there was no positive identification of who was on board the larger boat.
so now ppl are talking about if it was legit or not and how many people really died anyway i feel bad for those survivors who were left floating in the water but at the same time like what's the deal with this secret list of people that get targeted like is it some kinda death warrant? 
. Like, what even is the criteria for being on an "internal list" of people to be targeted? And how do we know that these 11 people were actually guilty of something? The fact that two survivors showed up after the first strike and didn't seem too hurt just raises more questions about what really went down 
. And don't even get me started on the "fog of war" excuse - it sounds like a convenient cop-out to me 
. Can we at least see some evidence to back up all these claims? I'm not buying it 
.
. The fact that they were on an internal list of narco-terrorists doesn't necessarily make them any less deserving of due process 
. I'm also curious about this "fog of war" thing Pete Hegseth is talking about 
. It sounds like a convenient excuse to me, especially if there's no concrete evidence backing up the allegations against those vessels 
.
. I mean, how can we trust their numbers when they can't even be bothered to verify the identities of the people on board? It's like they're trying to spin a narrative here 
. I'm all for taking down narcoterrorists, but let's do it with some transparency and accountability, you know? 
This is just getting out of hand... another "successful" op that leaves people dead and innocent lives left in the water 
The whole thing feels like a fishy story to me. 