Wild Twist: NYT Rides to Hegseth’s Rescue and Demolishes WaPo’s ‘Kill Them All’ Hit Piece
A recent New York Times report challenges claims made by The Washington Post that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a “spoken directive” to kill survivors of a U.S. strike against narcotics traffickers on September 2 in the Caribbean. The Post had reported that this alleged order to “kill them all” was used by critics to justify messages encouraging service members to refuse certain orders, suggesting the strike and follow-up actions may have been unlawful.
However, according to multiple anonymous U.S. officials cited by the New york Times, Hegseth ordered a lethal strike on the drug-smuggling venezuelan boat but did not give further instructions if some targets survived the initial missile strike. It was Admiral Frank Bradley who authorized follow-up strikes aimed at eliminating survivors and sinking the vessel, without additional orders from Hegseth.
The New York Times also notes that Hegseth made no oral directives beyond his written orders and that the original Post report lacked critically important context. In response,President Donald Trump expressed confidence in Hegseth’s statement that he did not order the killing of survivors,while Hegseth publicly supported Admiral Bradley’s actions and professionalism.
Meanwhile, Congress is investigating the incident to determine the facts, with Senate Armed Services Commitee Chair roger Wicker seeking review of all available audio and video from the strike to ensure proper oversight. the situation remains under examination amid concerns over the legality and conduct of the military operation.
A new report from The New York Times casts doubt upon The Washington Post’s claim that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called for an attack to kill survivors of a Sept. 2 attack on narcotics traffickers in the Caribbean.
Such an attack — which would be illegal — had been used by critics of the administration to justify recent videos telling service members they could refuse certain orders.
The Thursday report from The Washington Post said there was a “spoken directive” from Hegseth to, in one source’s words, “kill everybody.” (It was phrased as “kill them all” in the headline.)
“Hegseth’s order, which has not been previously reported, adds another dimension to the campaign against suspected drug traffickers. Some current and former U.S. officials and law-of-war experts have said that the Pentagon’s lethal campaign — which has killed more than 80 people to date — is unlawful and may expose those most directly involved to future prosecution,” the outlet noted, adding that a “Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack… ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, two people familiar with the matter said.”
However, a Monday report from The New York Times threw this narrative into doubt, with numerous unnamed officials saying that Hegseth ordered a lethal strike against the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua boat, but no follow-up action.
“According to five U.S. officials, who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter that is under investigation, Mr. Hegseth, ahead of the Sept. 2 attack, ordered a strike that would kill the people on the boat and destroy the vessel and its purported cargo of drugs,” the paper reported.
“But, each official said, Mr. Hegseth’s directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile turned out not to fully accomplish all of those things. And, the officials said, his order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast,” the report added.
“Admiral [Frank] Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and then several follow-up strikes that killed the initial survivors and sank the disabled boat. As that operation unfolded, they said, Mr. Hegseth did not give any further orders to him,” the report continued.
Later in the report, two unnamed officials “described a meeting before the attack at which Mr. Hegseth had briefed Special Operations Forces commanders on his execute order to engage the boat with lethal force” and said “Mr. Hegseth made no oral directive at the meeting that went beyond the written order.”
“The Post article did not provide context on when Mr. Hegseth gave what its sources described as a spoken order to kill everyone,” The New York Times noted.
The New York Times’ article comes a day after the White House gave Hegseth a vote of confidence, with President Donald Trump saying “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men” who were allegedly clinging to the boat.
Meanwhile, over at The Washington Post, Monday brought a report that officials within Congress and the Pentagon had become “increasingly concerned that the Trump administration intends to scapegoat the military officer who directed U.S. forces to kill two survivors of a targeted strike on suspected drug smugglers in Latin America, as lawmakers made initial moves to investigate whether the attack constituted a war crime.”
However, Hegseth attempted to shut this speculation down in a post in support of the admiral.
Let’s make one thing crystal clear:
Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since.
America is fortunate to have such men protecting…
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 1, 2025
“Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since,” Hegseth said.
“America is fortunate to have such men protecting us.”
The reports come as both houses of Congress look into the Sept. 2 strike and who gave what orders. CNN reported Monday that Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker of Mississippi had talked to Hegseth and confirmed there was a second strike. He said they were looking to get footage of the incident before further discussion.
“I don’t have that information, but I do think we’ll get that information, and we’re certainly going to have available to us all of the audio and all of the video. At that point, I’ll be able to have a more informed conversation,” Wicker said of a second strike.
“We’re going to conduct oversight, and we’re going to try to get to the facts.”
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