Lawmakers Support Probe of Boat Strikes12/01 06:17

   Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews 
of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the 
Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense 
Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed 
as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support 
congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of 
smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a 
published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for 
all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

   The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week's Washington Post 
report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking 
survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.

   "This rises to the level of a war crime if it's true," said Sen. Tim Kaine, 
D-Va.

   Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at 
people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that 
happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the 
House and Senate have opened investigations.

   "Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that 
that would be an illegal act," Turner said.

   Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to 
Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed that he 
had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro.

   The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at 
cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is 
weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.

   Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first reported 
by The New York Times.

   "I wouldn't say it went well or badly," Trump told reporters aboard Air 
Force One, when asked about the call.

   The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a 
request for comment about the call with Trump.

   Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that 
the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but the allegation 
regarding the Sept. 2 attack "is completely outside anything that has been 
discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation."

   The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the 
administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. On 
Saturday, Trump said the airspace "above and surrounding" Venezuela should be 
considered as "closed in its entirety," an assertion that raised more questions 
about the U.S. pressure on Maduro. Maduro's government accused Trump of making 
a "colonial threat" and seeking to undermine the South American country's 
sovereignty.

   After the Post's report, Hegseth said Friday on X that "fake news is 
delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit 
our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."

   "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," Hegseth wrote.

   Trump said on Sunday the administration "will look into" the matter but 
added, "I wouldn't have wanted that -- not a second strike." The president also 
defended Hegseth.

   "Pete said he did not order the death of those two men," Trump said. He 
added, "And I believe him."

   Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in 
a joint statement late Friday that the committee "will be conducting vigorous 
oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances."

   That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed Services 
Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and the ranking Democratic 
member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, issuing a joint statement saying the panel 
was committed to "providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense's 
military operations in the Caribbean."

   "We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be 
ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to 
gather a full accounting of the operation in question," Rogers and Smith said, 
referring to U.S. Southern Command.

   Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked about the Sept. 2 attack, said Hegseth 
deserves a chance to present his side.

   "We should get to the truth. I don't think he would be foolish enough to 
make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors because that's a 
clear violation of the law of war," Bacon said. "So, I'm very suspicious that 
he would've done something like that because it would go against common sense."

   Kaine and Turner appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," and Bacon was on ABC's 
"This Week."