Top Armed Services lawmakers are launching inquiries into the Trump administration’s lethal strikes in the Caribbean following a Washington Post report alleging that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. forces to kill anyone who survived a Sept. 2 strike on an alleged narcotics vessel.

«We will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances,» Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a joint statement. 

House Armed Services Committee leaders announced a parallel review, saying they are seeking «a full accounting» of the operation.

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«We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region,» said Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking Democrat Adam Smith, D-Wash. 

They said the committee is pursuing bipartisan oversight.

The Washington Post report, published Friday, cites unnamed individuals who claim Hegseth «gave a spoken directive» to «kill everybody» aboard a vessel U.S. intelligence believed was carrying narcotics in the Caribbean Sea. A Joint Special Operations commander overseeing that Sept. 2 mission «ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions» once two survivors were seen in the water after the initial blast, according to the report. 

Fox News has not independently verified the Post’s reporting.

Some lawmakers cast doubt on the account and stressed they have not been briefed on any order resembling what was described.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired Air Force brigadier general who has criticized Pentagon leadership on unrelated issues, said he is skeptical such an order would have been issued.

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«Secretary of Defense Hegseth denies it. We should get to the truth,» Bacon said on ABC. «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. So, I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that because it would go against common sense.»

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, the former House Intelligence Committee chairman, made a similar point Sunday.

«If that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act,» he said on CBS, adding that the claim «is completely outside of anything that’s been discussed with Congress.»

The Post reported that the Sept. 2 operation — the first in a string of high-tempo strikes targeting alleged Venezuelan and Colombian narcotics networks — left two survivors clinging to the wreckage before a follow-on munition was employed. The Pentagon publicly reported that 11 suspected narco-traffickers were killed in the incident.

Hegseth issued a forceful denial of the story, calling it «fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.»

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a forceful denial of the story, calling it «fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.» (The Associated Press)

«As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’» he wrote on X. «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.»

The Pentagon declined to provide any additional context when asked by Fox News.

Turner said over the weekend that nothing resembling the reported follow-on strike has been described in congressional after-action briefings to date.

 «There are very serious concerns in Congress about the attacks on the so-called drug boats down in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the legal justification that’s been provided,» he said. «But this is completely outside of anything that’s been discussed with Congress, and there is an ongoing investigation.»

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said over the weekend that nothing resembling the reported follow-on strike has been described in congressional after-action briefings to date.  (X.com/SecWar)

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Since September, U.S. forces have conducted at least two dozen strikes against alleged maritime narcotics traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing roughly 80 individuals linked — according to the administration — to designated Venezuelan and Colombian criminal organizations. Senior officials have argued the operations are necessary to disrupt what they describe as «narco-terrorist» groups with ties to Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

The escalated tempo comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Maduro. 

President Donald Trump warned in the past week that commercial airlines «should consider Venezuela’s airspace closed,» a directive that aviation and defense analysts note could precede strikes deeper into Venezuelan territory if the administration believes Maduro-aligned groups pose an expanding threat.

Tensions between NATO and Russia sharpened Monday after the alliance’s top military commander said member states are considering whether they must become «more aggressive» in confronting Moscow’s hybrid threat campaign.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO’s military committee, told the Financial Times the alliance is evaluating if it should be «proactive instead of reactive,» including the possibility of «preemptive» cyber or sabotage operations.

Dragone said such actions could still fall under defensive doctrine, saying, «It is further away from our normal way of thinking or behavior.»

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Dragone pointed to the Baltic Sentry mission, launched this year to counter Russian-linked sabotage at sea, saying that «from the beginning of Baltic Sentry, nothing has happened. So this means that this deterrence is working.»

He added: «Being more aggressive compared with the aggressivity of our counterpart could be an option, but Dragone also admitted that NATO and its members had much more limits than our counterpart because of ethics, because of law, because of jurisdiction. It is an issue. I don’t want to say it’s a loser position, but it is a harder position than our counterpart’s.»

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A NATO military force stands guard ahead of the two-day NATO summit at the World Forum, in The Hague, on June 22, 2025. (Remko De Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow immediately pushed back. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called Dragone’s comments «an extremely irresponsible step» and accused NATO of signaling it is willing «to move toward escalation,» according to Russian state media.

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a former senior State Department and official at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that, «Given Russia’s unilateral invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the idea that Russia is warning about NATO being irresponsible is laughable. Putin has been given numerous opportunities to end the war peacefully and has refused them all because of his own expansionist goals. NATO is simply reacting to his aggression.»

«Regarding U.S. involvement,» she explained, «Article 5 merely states that an attack on one is an attack on all. NATO adopting a more assertive position does not obligate the U.S. to do the same. We are only required to take ‘such action as [we] deem necessary’ – and that, only in the case of an attack on a NATO state.»

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval exercise from the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser in the Black Sea on Jan. 9, 2020. The drills involved warships from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet along with several ships from its Northern Fleet. More than 30 warships and 39 aircraft, including several Tu-95 strategic bombers, took part in the exercise. (Alexei Druzhinin /Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / Handout / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

General Bruce Carlson, U.S. Air Force (ret.) and former director of the National Reconnaissance Office, told Fox News Digital, «Let’s not forget it’s Russia who is conducting preemptive military action in Europe with the sole intention of invading and occupying another sovereign nation’s territory by force.» 

Carlson added, «Putin only understands one thing and that’s power. No one has strengthened NATO more than President Trump, and it is critical that we use every lever possible to push Russia to the negotiating table to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace deal that protects Ukraine’s sovereignty and defends U.S. national security interests.»

The warnings come amid a steady drumbeat of Russian-linked activity that NATO officials say falls under hybrid warfare. The alliance says it faces daily cyberattacks that can be traced to Moscow, alongside information operations, migration pressure, and repeated targeting of critical infrastructure.

A series of sabotage incidents in late 2024 triggered a major NATO review. Several undersea data cables and a key power link were damaged that November and December, including on Dec. 25. Prosecutors in Finland accused the crew of a Cook Islands–flagged tanker of dragging an anchor for more than 50 miles and severing infrastructure, though a Finnish court later dismissed the case, ruling national law did not apply.

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The Russian navy’s diesel-electric Kilo class submarine Rostov-on-Don sails through the Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Black Sea past the city of Istanbul on Feb 13, 2022.  (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)

More recently, roughly 20 drones crossed into NATO member Poland in September, prompting Warsaw to trigger Article 4 consultations. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time it was «the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II,» while Moscow denied targeting Polish territory.

El ministro del Interior confirmó que Ecuador busca que alias “Pipo”, señalado como el líder y principal financista de la organización criminal Los Lobos, sea extraditado directamente a Estados Unidos. El funcionario aseguró que ya realiza las gestiones diplomáticas y judiciales necesarias para que el proceso avance en esa dirección, tras la captura del delincuente en España y la reactivación de los casos que tenía en Ecuador, archivados tras una falsa acta de defunción. “Estoy haciendo las gestiones pertinentes para que sea enviado directamente a los Estados Unidos”, dijo en una extensa entrevista en la que repasó el impacto de esta detención y los próximos pasos en la lucha contra el crimen organizado.

Alias “Pipo”, cuya identidad civil no fue mencionada en la entrevista, es considerado por las autoridades como el único cabecilla real de Los Lobos, una estructura que opera bajo un mando vertical en contraste con otros grupos criminales. El ministro sostuvo que el detenido “tiene la responsabilidad de más de 400 muertes” en Ecuador, además de su presunto rol en masacres carcelarias, ataques con coches bomba y operaciones de narcotráfico. Tras su captura en España, insistió, el objetivo del Gobierno es impedir que el proceso se prolongue y obtener su traslado inmediato a un país donde pueda enfrentar cargos graves por crimen organizado y terrorismo, figuras bajo las cuales Estados Unidos reconoció a Los Lobos.

El funcionario explicó que la detención del cabecilla se produjo en una operación coordinada con cuerpos policiales internacionales, y que Ecuador actuó en menos de 48 horas para solicitar la difusión roja de Interpol. El trámite permitió que el proceso no avanzara únicamente con fines de deportación, sino con bases para extradición. “Lo logramos en 24 horas”, afirmó, destacando que ese procedimiento suele tomar más tiempo. También reveló que, al abrirse nuevamente los procesos judiciales en Ecuador —cerrados cuando se declaró oficialmente muerto a Pipo—, abogados particulares intentan mantener la validez de esa acta de defunción pese a que el detenido se encuentra vivo en una prisión española. Calificó ese intento como una “payasada” y advirtió que espera que ningún juez ecuatoriano “se preste a eso”.

Para el Gobierno, la extradición directa a Estados Unidos forma parte de una estrategia más amplia para golpear a los altos mandos del crimen organizado. En el caso de alias “Topo”, integrante de Los Choneros, el ministro aseguró que su traslado al país norteamericano está “en camino”, dado que ya purga una sentencia de 16 años en Ecuador pero también es requerido por narcotráfico en cortes estadounidenses. Insistió en que la cooperación bilateral se mantiene “intacta”, a pesar de debates recientes en Ecuador sobre la instalación de oficinas de Homeland Security. Afirmó que ambos países sostienen “el compromiso de continuar” con operaciones conjuntas, especialmente en incautaciones marítimas y en investigaciones sobre economías criminales.

La detención de cabecillas, sostuvo, desató reacciones violentas entre organizaciones que intentan reacomodar sus territorios. Según el ministro, el 85% de las muertes violentas registradas este año son resultado de disputas entre estructuras delictivas presionadas por las intervenciones del Estado. “No vamos a pactar con los criminales. Estamos en una guerra declarada”, dijo, al justificar que el debilitamiento de Los Choneros abrió un espacio de confrontación que Los Lobos buscaron aprovechar, hasta que fueron golpeados por la captura de figuras como alias “Pipo”.

El ministro insistió en que Ecuador ha afectado “más de USD 9.000 millones” a la economía criminal mediante operativos contra la minería ilegal, incautaciones de droga y destrucción inmediata de sustancias decomisadas. Aseguró que la práctica de almacenar cocaína en bodegas —32 en todo el país durante gobiernos anteriores— facilitaba robos, incendios provocados y sustitución de cargamentos. En contraste, dijo que hoy la destrucción se realiza casi de manera inmediata, con pruebas de campo bajo supervisión fiscal. También confirmó que Ecuador será sede de reuniones con autoridades estadounidenses que buscan que el país lidere, a nivel regional, estrategias contra el tráfico de fentanilo.

El ministro adelantó que el “próximo año” se espera que los efectos de estas capturas se reflejen con mayor claridad en la seguridad ciudadana. Señaló como pieza clave la nueva cárcel de 15.120 plazas anunciada por el Gobierno, que replicará el modelo de máxima seguridad del centro El Encuentro. Según dijo, la ausencia de privilegios, el aislamiento operativo y la inhibición total de señales telefónicas ya generan un cambio en el comportamiento criminal. “Le puedo asegurar que los 320 presos que tengo ahí no la están pasando bien… Hoy sí están cumpliendo sus penas como debe ser”, aseguró.