Democratic Rep. Says Pete Hegseth May Have Committed War Crimes With Reported Order To Finish Off Survivors Of Vessel Strike

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed a war crime if a report claiming that survivors of a strike against an alleged drug vessels were finished off with a second attack.

In a social media publication, Lieu told Hegseth that he read the DOJ memo exempting military members involved in the deployment in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific from prosecution and nothing in it "or military law, authorizes a second kinetic strike against defenseless survivors."

"If the reports are true, then a war crime was committed. Also there is generally no statute of limitations for war crimes," Lieu added.

Dear @SecWar: I read the classified legal memo. Nothing in the memo, or military law, authorizes a second kinetic strike against defenseless survivors. If the reports are true, then a war crime was committed.

Also, there is generally no statute of limitations for war crimes. https://t.co/3kQCsRQpbj — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) November 29, 2025

Hegseth has been thrown into the spotlight after The Washington Post reported that he reported all people aboard an alleged drug vessel be killed by a U.S. strike in September, prompting the military to conduct a second strike to finish off survivors.

Citing two people with knowledge of the operation, the outlet detailed that a second strike was conducted to kill two survivors of the first strike, which had already destroyed the vessel and killed nine.

"The order was to kill everybody," one of the people said about Hegseth's orders. The strike was the first one of the ongoing military campaign that has so far killed more than 80 people.

Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for years, told the outlet that the actions amount to "murder." Ordering the strike when surviving crew members were no longer able to pose a threat "would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime," he added.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected the report, saying the "narrative is completely false." "Ongoing operations to dismantle narcoterrorism and to protect the Homeland from deadly drugs have been a resounding success," he added.

Hegseth has also come out to reject the claims, saying "the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."

As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.

As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically… — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 28, 2025

"Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command," he added.