Jaeed Evan- Jewish Voice News

Senior Republican and Democratic members of Congress signaled on Sunday that U.S. military officials may have committed a war crime during President Trump’s offensive against boats in the Caribbean, after a report indicated that a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors of an initial attack, The New York Times reported.

The remarks came in response to a Washington Post report stating that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a verbal order to target all personnel aboard boats suspected of drug smuggling. The order reportedly prompted a military commander to carry out a second strike on survivors of an early September attack.

“Obviously if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Representative Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio and former Intelligence Committee chair, said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said the attack “rises to the level of a war crime” if the report is accurate. Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, told CNN, “It seems to” constitute a war crime.

The lawmakers’ comments coincided with announcements from the Senate and House Armed Services Committees that they will increase scrutiny of the Caribbean boat strikes. Senators Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, and Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, said they had “directed inquiries” to the Defense Department and will conduct “vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances,” The New York Times reported.

Similarly, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama, and Ranking Member Adam Smith, Democrat of Washington, said they are “taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.”

The boat strikes, intended to deter drug smuggling and put pressure on Venezuela, have killed more than 80 people since early September. Trump administration officials described them as part of a formal armed conflict with drug traffickers, but members of Congress have questioned the legal justification for the operations.

Defense Secretary Hegseth has denied the report, calling it “fabricated and inflammatory,” while President Trump expressed confidence in Hegseth, suggesting he “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike that killed survivors, according to The New York Times.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, called for the release of “the full, unedited tapes of the strikes so the American people can see for themselves.”

The scrutiny marks a notable step by Republican lawmakers who have often deferred to the former president, signaling growing bipartisan concern over the legality of the military operations.