US lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration for answers about military strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats, following reports that a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors of an initial attack.
Republican-led committees overseeing the Pentagon have vowed to conduct vigorous oversight into the US boat strikes in the Caribbean, following the report.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that a US strike on a boat on 2 September left two survivors, but a second attack was carried out to comply with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's orders to kill everybody on board.
Hegseth decried the report as fake news and President Donald Trump said he believed him a 100%.
The US has expanded its military presence in the Caribbean and carried out a series of lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in international waters off Venezuela and Colombia, as part of what it calls an anti-narcotics operation.
More than 80 people have been killed since early September.
The Trump administration says it is acting in self-defence by destroying boats carrying illicit drugs to the US.
In its report on Friday, The Washington Post wrote that Secretary Hegseth gave a spoken directive to kill everybody on board one such vessel, and a Special Operations commander overseeing the operation ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth's instructions.
Republican and Democrat lawmakers appearing on Sunday talk shows expressed support for congressional reviews of US military strikes on vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean.
The leaders voiced their concerns, emphasizing that attacks on survivors of missile strikes raise significant legal issues.
This rises to the level of a war crime if it's true, stated Democrat Senator Tim Kaine on CBS Face the Nation.
Republican lawmaker Mike Turner asserted that Congress lacked information on the follow-up strike, acknowledging that if it occurred, it would represent a serious and possibly illegal action.
The comments followed the announcement by the Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee of their plans to conduct vigorous oversight into the strikes.
The Committee has directed inquiries to the Department of Defense, with an inquiry being initiated by the House Armed Services Committee as well.
In a post on X, Hegseth labeled the accusations against him as fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory, defending the legality of the strikes under US and international law.
Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization, he stated.
President Trump echoed Hegseth's defense aboard Air Force One, noting his full trust in the Secretary's statements.
On Sunday, Venezuela's National Assembly strongly condemned the US strikes, promising a thorough investigation into the alleged second attack that reportedly killed survivors.
The Venezuelan government accused the US of inciting regional tension with an aim to destabilize its regime.
The US is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but military legal experts have previously advised that US actions should align with this framework.
This convention generally prohibits interference with vessels in international waters, allowing only for specific exceptions such as hot pursuit from a nation's waters into the high seas.
Experts suggest that while force may be used to intercept vessels, lethal measures should be avoided, emphasizing a preference for non-lethal tactics.
