The Pentagon said a U.S. strike in the Caribbean Sea killed three people aboard a vessel tied to a U.S.-designated terrorist group, the latest in a campaign that has drawn intensifying scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
The Defense Department said Saturday that U.S. forces carried out a lethal strike in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people aboard a boat that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. He did not name the group. It was at least the 15th such operation since early September. (apnews.com)
In a post on X, Hegseth said the vessel "—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics." He referred to those aboard as "narco-terrorists" and said the department would treat them "EXACTLY" as it treated al-Qaeda. (nbcchicago.com)
According to the Associated Press, the strike brings the tally of deaths from the maritime campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to at least 64 since early September. (apnews.com)
President Donald Trump has framed the operations as a necessary escalation to stem drug flows and has described the campaign as part of an "armed conflict" with cartels, while the administration has invoked law-of-armed-conflict concepts in its notifications to Congress. At the same time, officials have argued the War Powers Resolution does not apply to these strikes because they do not constitute "hostilities" under the law — a position that has drawn bipartisan concern. (politico.com)
On Friday, Senate Democrats — including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Jack Reed, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Patty Murray and Brian Schatz — sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Hegseth, seeking all legal opinions related to the strikes and a list of groups the president has deemed targetable. The letter said the administration has "selectively shared what has at times been contradictory information" with some members while excluding others. (foreign.senate.gov)
Earlier, the Republican chairman and Democratic ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee — Sens. Roger Wicker and Jack Reed — released letters they sent in late September and early October requesting the Pentagon's legal rationale, relevant execute orders and a list of organizations designated in the administration's justification for using force. (reed.senate.gov)
Separately, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats led by Sen. Peter Welch asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide the Justice Department's legal analysis for the maritime strikes, which they said had killed 57 people as of Oct. 29. (reuters.com)
