Hegseth Defends Killing of Survivors in Caribbean Strike (1)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on deadly US airstrikes against alleged drug-running boats off the Venezuelan coast, saying he would have made the same call as the admiral who ordered survivors to be killed.

The nearly two dozen strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have come under bipartisan scrutiny, but recent reports that a September strike included a second one to kill two survivors clinging to wreckage at sea have prompted accusations of possible war crimes.

“From what I understood then and what I understand now, I fully support that strike,” Hegseth said Saturday. “I would have ...