Did the U.S. commit a war crime in the Caribbean?

More than 80 people have now been killed by U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats.

There are growing questions about an order to kill two of those people — whether it amounts to a war crime.

Here’s what we know: On Sept. 2, the U.S. carried out two strikes on a boat in the Caribbean. The second, subsequent strike killed two remaining survivors.

Details of that second strike were first reported by The Washington Post last week.

Today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “authorized” Admiral Frank Bradley to conduct both strikes, and that Admiral Bradley issued the order and, quote — “worked well within his authority and the law.”

But on Capitol Hill, both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees are asking for a full accounting.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Jay Czys. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy