{"id":45376,"date":"2025-12-01T21:09:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45376"},"modified":"2025-12-01T21:09:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:09:49","slug":"legal-experts-accuse-hegseth-of-war-crimes-murder-or-both-after-new-reporting-on-boat-strike-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/legal-experts-accuse-hegseth-of-war-crimes-murder-or-both-after-new-reporting-on-boat-strike-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Experts Accuse Hegseth of \u2018War Crimes, Murder, or Both\u2019 After New Reporting on Boat Strike Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Pete<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on during a bilateral meeting between President Donald Trump Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Republican-controlled committees also said they were opening investigations into the defense secretary\u2019s alleged order to \u201ckill everybody\u201d aboard a boat in the Caribbean in September\u2014the first of nearly two dozen strikes.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nov 30, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former top military lawyers on Saturday said<\/a> that new reporting on orders personally given by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in early September, when the military struck the first of nearly two dozen boats in the Caribbean, suggests Hegseth has committed \u201cwar crimes<\/a>, murder, or both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Former Judge Advocates General (JAGs) Working Group, which includes former officials who served as legal advisers for the military, issued a statement in response to the Washington Post<\/a><\/em>\u2018s reporting<\/a> on the September 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean\u2014the first strike on a vessel in an ongoing operation that the Trump administration<\/a> has claimed is aimed at stopping drug trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Qatari<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth Says 6 More Men Killed in Latest Boat Bombings<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"grainy<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

White House Claims Trump \u2018Has the Authority to Kill\u2019 Survivors of Boat Strikes<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Post<\/em> reported for the first time on the directive Hegseth gave to Special Operations commanders as intelligence analysts reported that their surveillance had confirmed the 11 people aboard the boat were carrying drugs to the US\u2014an alleged crime that, in the past and in accordance with international law<\/a>, would have prompted US agencies to intercept the vessel, confiscate any illegal substances that were found, and arrest those on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the Trump administration began its boat bombing campaign, the order Hegseth gave \u201cwas to kill everybody,\u201d one of the intelligence analysts told the Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the first missile strike, the officials realized that two of the passengers had survived the blast\u2014prompting a Special Operations commander to initiate a second strike to comply with Hegseth\u2019s order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Former JAGs Working Group, which was established in February in response to Hegseth\u2019s firing of Army and Air Force JAGs, said that the\u00a0dismissal<\/a>\u00a0of the military\u2019s top legal advisers set the stage for the defense secretary\u2019s order and the continued bombing of boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, which have now killed more than 80 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/rgoodlaw\/status\/1994859617688719833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1994859617688719833%7Ctwgr%5E7ce12ba989c8d47c19f1a0c7ba1c67fb35733734%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fpete-hegseth-boat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth\u2019s \u201csystematic dismantling of the military\u2019s legal guardrails\u201d led to the formation of the working group, pointed out the former JAGs. \u201cHad those guardrails been in place, we are confident they would have prevented these crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The working group said Hegseth\u2019s order to \u201ckill everybody\u201d could be understood in one of two ways\u2014a demand for the US military<\/a> to carry out a clear war crime, or for those involved in the operation to commit murder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

If the US military operation to interdict and destroy suspected narcotrafficking vessels is a \u201cnon-international armed conflict,\u201d as the Trump administration suggests, orders to \u201ckill everybody,\u201d which can reasonably be regarded as an order to give \u201cno quarter,\u201d and to \u201cdouble-tap\u201d a target in order to kill survivors, are clearly illegal under international law. In short, they are war crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the US military operation is not an armed conflict of any kind, these orders to kill helpless civilians clinging to the wreckage of a vessel our military destroyed would subject everyone from [the defense secretary] down to the individual who pulled the trigger to prosecution under US law for murder.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Post<\/em>\u2018s reporting comes less than two weeks after NBC News <\/em>revealed that Senior Judge Advocate General (JAG) Paul Meagher, a Marine colonel at US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami, had spoken out<\/a> against the plans to begin bombing boats in the Caribbean, specifically warning in August that the operations would make service members liable for extrajudicial killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the Post<\/em>\u2018s report, Republican-controlled House and Senate committees said<\/a> they were investigating the allegations regarding Hegseth\u2019s order, which the defense secretary dismissed<\/a> on Friday as \u201cfabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), joined by Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), said they had \u201cdirected inquiries to the Department [of Defense],\u201d and would \u201cbe conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chair and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, released a similar statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration has never publicly released evidence that the dozens of people it\u2019s killed in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific were drug traffickers. The Associated Press <\/em>reported on the identities of some of the victims, finding among them an out-of-work bus driver and a fisherman who had agreed to help ferry narcotics\u2014which led one policy expert to liken<\/a> the boat-bombing operations to \u201cstraight-up massacring 16-year-old drug dealers on US street corners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump<\/a> has told Congress\u2014where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have unsuccessfully sought to block further military action in the Caribbean and Venezuela\u2014that the US is engaged<\/a> in an \u201carmed conflict\u201d with drug cartels in the South American country. The Former JAGs Working Group suggested that Trump\u2019s claims about the operation are immaterial considering Hegeth\u2019s reported order for US officers to \u201ckill everybody\u201d on September 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegardless of whether the US is involved in an armed conflict, law enforcement operations, or any other application of military force, international and domestic US law prohibit the intentional targeting of defenseless persons,\u201d said the former military lawyers. \u201cIf the Washington<\/a> Post<\/em> and CNN<\/em> reports are true, the two survivors of the September, 2 2025 US attack against a vessel carrying 11 persons were rendered unable to continue their mission when US military forces significantly damaged the vessel carrying them. Under such circumstances, not only does international law prohibit targeting these survivors, but it also requires the attacking force to protect, rescue, and, if applicable, treat them as prisoners of war. Violations of these obligations are war crimes, murder, or both. There are no other options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Joint Special Operations Command previously told the White House<\/a> that the \u201cdouble-tap\u201d strike was necessary to sink the boat to avoid a \u201cnavigation hazard\u201d to other vessels\u2014a claim that Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Marine Corps veteran, called<\/a> \u201cpatently absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder,\u201d Moulton told the Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer Ramez Naam said<\/a> Saturday that Hegseth \u201ctelegraphed his intent to issue illegal orders the day he fired the JAGs,\u201d when he told<\/a> the press that the legal advisers had been dismissed to avoid \u201croadblocks to orders that are given by a commander in chief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former JAGs called on Congress<\/a> to investigate the new reporting on Hegseth\u2019s order \u201cand the American people to oppose any use of the US military that involves the intentional targeting of anyone\u2014enemy combatants, non-combatants, or civilians\u2014rendered hors de combat (\u201dout of the fight\u201c) as a result of their wounds or the destruction of the ship or aircraft carrying them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also advise our fellow citizens that orders like those described above are the kinds of \u2018patently illegal orders\u2019 all military members have a duty to disobey,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reporting on Hegseth\u2019s order came ahead of Trump\u2019s latest escalation with Venezuela<\/a>, with the president claiming<\/a> he had ordered the airspace above and around the South American country closed\u2014an action Venezuela\u2019s government denounced<\/a> as an \u201cextravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression\u201d and a \u201ccolonialist threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the administration has repeatedly claimed its actions in Venezuela\u2014including the boat strikes, an authorized CIA operation<\/a>, and discussions about potential strikes<\/a> inside the country\u2014are aimed at dismantling drug trafficking operations there, US and international intelligence assessments have not pointed to Venezuela as a major source of drugs that enter the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Trump on Friday announced his plan to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, who was convicted by a US jury of conspiring to traffic more than 400 tons of cocaine and who once\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0he wanted to\u00a0\u201cstuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/HouseForeign\/status\/1994793508654248049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1994793508654248049%7Ctwgr%5E7ce12ba989c8d47c19f1a0c7ba1c67fb35733734%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fpete-hegseth-boat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president publicly stated<\/a> in 2023 that had he won the 2020 election, he would have taken control of Venezuela\u2019s oil<\/a> reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said<\/a> the new reporting on Hegseth\u2019s order made even clearer that the boat bombings have been \u201cextrajudicial killings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHegseth needs to be held accountable,\u201d said the senator. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, Trump promised the American people no new wars but is now manufacturing this conflict and lying about his motives. This warmongering has got to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on during a bilateral meeting between President Donald Trump Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images) Two Republican-controlled committees also said they were opening investigations into the defense secretary\u2019s alleged order to… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45377,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45376\/revisions\/45377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}