• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth supports a second military strike on a Caribbean vessel despite controversy.
• The Pentagon is reviewing whether to release video footage of the strikes that killed survivors.
• Concerns about potential war crimes have surfaced regarding the attacks on suspected drug boats.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed his backing for a September 2 decision to conduct a second strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, stating, "I fully support that strike. I would have made the same call myself" during a defense forum in Simi Valley, California. This operation has drawn scrutiny as it reportedly included a second missile strike targeting survivors attempting to cling to wreckage after the initial attack, which killed eleven people, according to Reuters and HuffPost.

The Pentagon has yet to confirm whether the full video of the attack will be released. Hegseth remarked that they are "reviewing the process," suggesting any release would be handled responsibly. This comes in light of bipartisan criticism surrounding the strikes, particularly an anonymous source's report suggesting Hegseth ordered that "everyone on the boat be taken out," which he vehemently denied as "patently ridiculous" on Saturday, as reported by CBS News and India Times.

The September strikes are among a series of operations aiming to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Legal experts have raised alarms about whether these strikes could constitute war crimes, particularly regarding the targeting of incapacitated survivors, which is deemed illegal under the Defense Department's Law of War Manual. At least 87 individuals have been killed in these military actions, prompting serious debates about their legality and the Trump administration's approach to drug-related violence, according to South China Morning Post and HuffPost.

Support for the operations has been echoed in statements from President Donald Trump, who mentioned his willingness to release all footage pertinent to the strikes, clarifying their intent to combat drug cartels. Nonetheless, Hegseth maintains his position, asserting that the U.S. military will persist in their efforts against those they classify as "narco-terrorists." He emphasized that the U.S. will continue to utilize significant military force against drug runners seen as threats, reiterating that their actions are part of restoring U.S. military prerogatives in the region, as referenced by South China Morning Post and Reuters.