It would seem as if Hegseth has no regard for law nor the rules set forth by the Geneva Convention, and for a man in his position that seems quite dangerous. We all know Trump will never face prison time for his crimes, but he is quite famous for throwing his underlings under the bus, especially when things get a bit too hot for him. 

 

Lawmakers from both parties raised alarms Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed a war crime following a report that he ordered a follow-on attack to kill survivors of a boat strike in September.

 

The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth authorized a highly unusual strike to kill all survivors of one of the Trump administration’s attacks in recent months on boats allegedly carrying drugs in international waters.

 

POLITICO has not independently verified the Post’s reporting.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) responded to the article by writing on social media Saturday evening: “Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and should be fired immediately.”

Bipartisan leadership of the Armed Services Committees in both chambers vowed to probe the matter, with Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) promising “vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances” on Friday.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) told Cordes on Sunday that “if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act,” and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on ABC’s “This Week” that “if it was as if the article said, that is a violation of the law of war.”

 

“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,” Bacon, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “So I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that, because it would go against common sense.”

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/30/war-crimes-hegseth-venezuela-strikes-00671160

 

 

That suit is certainly a war crime!

39 minutes ago, JAG said:

That suit is certainly a war crime!

That suit is certainly evidence that the man is guilty, guilty of believing in American exceptionalism! 

Not a chance.

The Trump DOJ serves Trump. Not Justice.

He would also be pardoned.

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Not a chance.

The Trump DOJ serves Trump. Not Justice.

He would also be pardoned.

Well I am certainly talking about the post Trump era. Trump supports crime of many types, so nobody will be held accountable during his current reign.

Trump has a very consistent pattern prior to throwing a member of his administration under the bus, he usually  begins to distance himself with statements like this one. 

 

In a post on X, Hegseth pushed back against the accusation, calling it "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory". He wrote that the series of strikes on boats were "lawful under both US and international law. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization," he wrote.

 

On Sunday, talking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Trump defended his defence secretary, saying: "He said he did not say that. And I believe him a 100%."

 

Trump said the administration "will look into" the matter and added "I wouldn't have wanted that - not a second strike".

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8zyp988zvo

There seems to be more outrage over the rightful killing of some scumbag drug smugglers than over the assignation of Charlie Kirk

Let's get things into perspective ,  if President Trump was not in the Whitehouse  this would quite rightly go unmentioned 

Those smugglers gave up all  of their rights when they started that journey, 

1 minute ago, Bday Prang said:

There seems to be more outrage over the rightful killing of some scumbag drug smugglers than over the assignation of Charlie Kirk

Let's get things into perspective ,  if President Trump was not in the Whitehouse  this would quite rightly go unmentioned 

Those smugglers gave up all  of their rights when they started that journey, 

If they were smuggling cocaine, heroin or fentanyl, I agree. If they were smugglers, at all. 

Not in a million years.  Who is going to charge and convict him?  The ICC?  The last I check the US government threatened to sanction the ICC and take military action against the Hague.
Only super-powers have the power to effect conviction against war criminals who are part of the power structure of a super-power.  And none of them will get involved.  So Hegseth can pretty much murder anyone he wants to with 100% impunity. Before Trump's term is up, I expect that summary executions of US citizens to happen within the US.  They'll just call the people they murder some form or the other of terrorist.  Nacro-terrorist, Info-Terrorist, Anarcho-Terrorist, Crypto-Terrorist, Digital-Terrorist.  Whatever they want - the ends will justify the means.  Welcome to Fascism. 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Well I am certainly talking about the post Trump era. Trump supports crime of many types, so nobody will be held accountable during his current reign.

Lefties salivating over the prospect of more lawfare😅 tbf Hegseth will have to wait in line behind the dirty 51, Schiff, Pelosi and the rest. Its a very long line indeed

What crimes? Did he call payments to his attorney legal expenses?

It will be interesting to see if these MAGA Trump ass lickers do get jail time. Will the jail they go to hold a lottery and the loser has to share a cell with Hesgeth or one of the other MAGA goons. Rest assured the greatest president ever will be the first to jump over board when the MAGA ship is sinking. I not against the Republicans, it's just the weirdos who have muscled in and thrown the Republican Party into total disarray.

2 minutes ago, Mason45 said:

It will be interesting to see if these MAGA Trump ass lickers do get jail time. Will the jail they go to hold a lottery and the loser has to share a cell with Hesgeth or one of the other MAGA goons. Rest assured the greatest president ever will be the first to jump over board when the MAGA ship is sinking. I not against the Republicans, it's just the weirdos who have muscled in and thrown the Republican Party into total disarray.

Always classy the left. 

 

So what crimes?

“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,” Bacon, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “So I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that, because it would go against common sense.”

 

What that guy said. 

The left, have another try you moron. I'm fortunate enough to not be an American,

Wow, name calling, how clever.

 

So, what crimes? 

Making this a left or right issue is already wrong. Law is law or like @Yagoda likes to "nobody is above the law" unless you're Maga of cause.

5 minutes ago, bubblegum said:

Making this a left or right issue is already wrong. Law is law or like @Yagoda likes to "nobody is above the law" unless you're Maga of cause.

Spoken like a true leftist

Unfortunately trump will just issue a pardon…it’s also a tool he can use to keep Pete in line as a threat of denial of said pardon…..I’d assume his whole cabinet has allready received blanket pardons for their malfeasance…..they would be fools not to demand it before joining this corrupt administration.

3 hours ago, bubblegum said:

Making this a left or right issue is already wrong. Law is law or like @Yagoda likes to "nobody is above the law" unless you're Maga of cause.

Navarro went to prison. Did democrats that refused to appear get the same? I rest my case😆

As noted elsewhere, it seems more likely that Mr. Hegseth would be a named defendant in a wrongful death civil case than ever be subject (at least during the current presidency) to criminal indictment.

13 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I agree. If they were smugglers, at all. 

             Of course they were smugglers, who else would be using a "go fast" boat in those waters or anywhere else for that matter.    Given that this is not the first such operation by the US in the area, there is absolutely no chance of  any of these boats containing an "innocent family enjoying a day out" 

            I couldn't care less if the incidents have broken "international law" the bad guys , in case anybody has not noticed , tend not to hamper themselves with trivialities like "the law"   Yet  our lawmakers insist on dreaming up more and more regulations  which seem to serve no other purpose than to hamper our own authorities, and protect the wrongdoers , So all kudos to Trump for busting through the red tape 

            So they were not afforded due process, well boo hoo, do the drug gangs follow due process when supplying their wares to their "customers" ?  

             People are always calling for a stepping up of the war on drugs, but when that is put into practice many do not appear to have the stomach for the realities of it ,  that is why it is a war we will never win,

             Exactly the same goes for the war against islamic extremism

12 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

             Of course they were smugglers, who else would be using a "go fast" boat in those waters or anywhere else for that matter.    Given that this is not the first such operation by the US in the area, there is absolutely no chance of  any of these boats containing an "innocent family enjoying a day out" 

            I couldn't care less if the incidents have broken "international law" the bad guys , in case anybody has not noticed , tend not to hamper themselves with trivialities like "the law"   Yet  our lawmakers insist on dreaming up more and more regulations  which seem to serve no other purpose than to hamper our own authorities, and protect the wrongdoers , So all kudos to Trump for busting through the red tape 

            So they were not afforded due process, well boo hoo, do the drug gangs follow due process when supplying their wares to their "customers" ?  

             People are always calling for a stepping up of the war on drugs, but when that is put into practice many do not appear to have the stomach for the realities of it ,  that is why it is a war we will never win,

             Exactly the same goes for the war against islamic extremism

Looks like you want a lawless society. Or just laws that satisfy your thinking. 

Meanwhile, Trump pardons Juan Orlando Hernández, who flooded the US with cocaine.

19 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

 Of course they were smugglers, who else would be using a "go fast" boat in those waters or anywhere else for that matter. 

AI quickie Gemini

 

Commercial Transport Speedboats and high-speed ferries are used for fast transportation of passengers and goods between islands or along coastlines, especially in archipelagic nations where water transport is vital infrastructure.

 

Not All Suspected Boats Carry Drugs: While intelligence often points to smuggling activity, a 2024 Coast Guard report indicated that a notable percentage of searches of suspect vessels can come back empty-handed, highlighting that suspicion does not always equal a confirmed positive interdiction. 

 

Speed boats transporting passengers at night? 

 

Commercial ferries? That's a hoot.  

 

How hard is it to dump bales of drugs overboard?

AI quickie Gemini:

 

The Incident: In mid-September 2025, a U.S. Navy special operations team conducted a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, which U.S. officials suspected of transporting drugs.
The Victim: The family of Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman from Santa Marta, Colombia, recognized his boat from the U.S.-released footage of the strike. Carranza and two other men on board were killed in the incident, which involved the U.S. military firing multiple missiles.
The Lawyer: Dan Kovalik, an American lawyer who also works for Colombian President Gustavo Petro, was hired by Carranza's family to pursue a lawsuit for damages and injunctive relief against the U.S. government.

The Boat: The vessel in question was a small boat, described as having two motors, which is consistent with the type used by local fishermen in the region. Drug smugglers typically use boats with three or four motors. 

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It would seem as if Hegseth has no regard for law nor the rules set forth by the Geneva Convention, and for a man in his position that seems quite dangerous. We all know Trump will never face prison time for his crimes, but he is quite famous for throwing his underlings under the bus, especially when things get a bit too hot for him. 

 

Lawmakers from both parties raised alarms Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed a war crime following a report that he ordered a follow-on attack to kill survivors of a boat strike in September.

 

The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth authorized a highly unusual strike to kill all survivors of one of the Trump administration’s attacks in recent months on boats allegedly carrying drugs in international waters.

 

POLITICO has not independently verified the Post’s reporting.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) responded to the article by writing on social media Saturday evening: “Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and should be fired immediately.”

Bipartisan leadership of the Armed Services Committees in both chambers vowed to probe the matter, with Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) promising “vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances” on Friday.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) told Cordes on Sunday that “if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act,” and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on ABC’s “This Week” that “if it was as if the article said, that is a violation of the law of war.”

 

“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,” Bacon, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “So I’m very suspicious that he would’ve done something like that, because it would go against common sense.”

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/30/war-crimes-hegseth-venezuela-strikes-00671160

 

 

 

Hegseth ordering SEALs to “kill everybody” on a burning cartel boat?

Total WaPo fan-fiction. No audio, no docs, just anonymous whispers from salty intel holdovers pissed about the purge. Hegseth calls it fabricated garbage, the White House backs him, and even Trump says he didn’t order any follow-up hit.

Geneva Convention violation? Laughable. These were armed Sinaloa narcoterrorists in international waters hauling fentanyl that kills 80K Americans a year.

They were active combatants until the boat was slag.

SEALs are trained to refuse illegal orders; if Hegseth really said “mop up the swimmers,” they’d have told him to pound sand.

They didn’t, because it never happened.War-crime screeching is coming from the same Obama-era lawyers who signed off on 3,000+ drone strikes, including the ones that vaporized wedding parties.

Selective outrage is selective.

Trump throwing Hegseth under the bus? Please.

Hegseth is one of his most loyal soldiers since 2016. Trump’s already publicly got his back.

This isn’t lawlessness; it’s finally fighting a war on the cartels that every previous administration punted.

Dangerous? The only thing dangerous is letting these animals keep flooding poison across the border.Until someone produces actual evidence instead of “people familiar with the matter,” this is just another media hit job. Same playbook, different day.

2 hours ago, bubblegum said:

Looks like you want a lawless society. Or just laws that satisfy your thinking. 

We already live in a lawless society when it comes to illegal drugs   

 

Just now, Bday Prang said:

We already live in a lawless society when it comes to illegal drugs   

 

The only laws the left seems to care about, are the laws that protect the lawless. 

 

They do not give a whit about illegal drugs, and in fact they promote them, but the moment someone tries to do something about illegal drugs, the law becomes important, and they'll used every law they can to stop them. 

 

Same with illegal immigration.