1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

 I cannot understand anybody whinging about this

What is hard to understand about blowing up boats and killing people without due process? You cannot understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty and the concept of trials within a law and order society? Where were you brought up and schooled? 

Before the current US regime started blowing up boats in the south American seas, they previously had coast guards intercept boats. It's well documented that some (21%) were wrongly identified and simply legally doing other things like fishing. So based on the current modus operandi of the WH, 21% of their kill is innocent victims. With that in mind, why cannot you understand something isn't right here?

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

be released and pardoned , probably with an apology and some compensation, following the endeavours of some leftist "human rights" lawyer

Right, trump the human rights lawyer. Or didn't he just pardon a convicted drug lord?

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Not the first time he has done that. If he is so sure about SMJ, why isnt he filing in a real Court

 

Per CNN link:

 

Kovalik said the petition he filed Tuesday on behalf of Carranza’s wife and kids is the first formal complaint against the US strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific and that he believes more will follow.

18 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

Per CNN link:

 

Kovalik said the petition he filed Tuesday on behalf of Carranza’s wife and kids is the first formal complaint against the US strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific and that he believes more will follow.

All publicity is good publicity for lawyers. Kudos to him, he knows how to play it

41 minutes ago, WorriedNoodle said:

What is hard to understand about blowing up boats and killing people without due process? You cannot understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty and the concept of trials within a law and order society? Where were you brought up and schooled? 

Before the current US regime started blowing up boats in the south American seas, they previously had coast guards intercept boats. It's well documented that some (21%) were wrongly identified and simply legally doing other things like fishing. So based on the current modus operandi of the WH, 21% of their kill is innocent victims. With that in mind, why cannot you understand something isn't right here?

I’d sleep with one eye open if I were hegseth lol those seals might not take kindly to this Hollywood news boy throwing their boss under the bus 🚌 oh yea!!!nite nite Pete!wouldn't want to be ya!

On 12/1/2025 at 8:56 AM, spidermike007 said:

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.

Fake news and another desperate attempt to smear Sec/War P Hegseth by the demented and failed democrat enterprise of buffoonery.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, stevenl said:

That's not what the New York times said, that's what Townhall claims the New York times said.

If you want to post what the New York times says, link to the New York times.

Townhall quoted NYT. But I agree with you to go to the source. Thanks.

 

WaPo says:

 

Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors.

 

Updated November 28, 2025

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/28/hegseth-kill-them-all-survivors-boat-strike/

 

Townhall says:

 

Now, the Trump administration and Secretary Hegseth are being backed up by The New York Times, saying that the WaPo article didn't "provide context on when Mr. Hegseth gave what its sources described as a spoken order to kill everyone".

 

Townhall then publishes excerpts from previous WaPo article and following NYT describing the context.

 

Quoting NYT article:

 

According to five U.S. officials, who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter that is under investigation, Mr. Hegseth, ahead of the Sept. 2 attack, ordered a strike that would kill the people on the boat and destroy the vessel and its purported cargo of drugs.

 

But, each official said, Mr. Hegseth’s directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile turned out not to fully accomplish all of those things. And, the officials said, his order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast.

 

Admiral Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and then several follow-up strikes that killed the initial survivors and sank the disabled boat. As that operation unfolded, they said, Mr. Hegseth did not give any further orders to him.

 

The officials clarified the sequence of events amid the political and legal uproar that has followed a report in The Washington Post last week. It said that Admiral Bradley ordered the second strike to fulfill a directive by Mr. Hegseth to kill everyone. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/us/hegseth-drug-boat-strike-order-venezuela.html

 

Many facets to this operation. WaPo deserves a massive loss of credibility and legal response if Hegseth gave no order to kill survivors. 

 

We'll see how the justification for follow-up strikes on the boat and survivors pans out.

 

Question: 

Assuming you agree that narcotics from cartels should be immediately stopped and have consequences for trying to deliver...

 

1. Should the Navy's resoures be stationed to confront and halt the activities, advance, or entry of by intercepting, boarding and arresting with lethal response if fired upon?

 

2. Sink vessels verified to be transporting narcotics with drones?

 

3. Do you think this is part of a larger strategy to oust Maduro?

21 minutes ago, mymonkeyhusb said:

Townhall quoted NYT. But I agree with you to go to the source. Thanks.

 

WaPo says:

 

Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors.

 

Updated November 28, 2025

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/28/hegseth-kill-them-all-survivors-boat-strike/

 

Townhall says:

 

Now, the Trump administration and Secretary Hegseth are being backed up by The New York Times, saying that the WaPo article didn't "provide context on when Mr. Hegseth gave what its sources described as a spoken order to kill everyone".

 

Townhall then publishes excerpts from previous WaPo article and following NYT describing the context.

 

Quoting NYT article:

 

According to five U.S. officials, who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter that is under investigation, Mr. Hegseth, ahead of the Sept. 2 attack, ordered a strike that would kill the people on the boat and destroy the vessel and its purported cargo of drugs.

 

But, each official said, Mr. Hegseth’s directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile turned out not to fully accomplish all of those things. And, the officials said, his order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast.

 

Admiral Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and then several follow-up strikes that killed the initial survivors and sank the disabled boat. As that operation unfolded, they said, Mr. Hegseth did not give any further orders to him.

 

The officials clarified the sequence of events amid the political and legal uproar that has followed a report in The Washington Post last week. It said that Admiral Bradley ordered the second strike to fulfill a directive by Mr. Hegseth to kill everyone. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/us/hegseth-drug-boat-strike-order-venezuela.html

 

Many facets to this operation. WaPo deserves a massive loss of credibility and legal response if Hegseth gave no order to kill survivors. 

 

We'll see how the justification for follow-up strikes on the boat and survivors pans out.

 

Question: 

Assuming you agree that narcotics from cartels should be immediately stopped and have consequences for trying to deliver...

 

1. Should the Navy's resoures be stationed to confront and halt the activities, advance, or entry of by intercepting, boarding and arresting with lethal response if fired upon?

 

2. Sink vessels verified to be transporting narcotics with drones?

 

3. Do you think this is part of a larger strategy to oust Maduro?

I would add a fourth question:

 

How is it going to prevent overdose deaths in the US? Considering that:

- the main cause of drug deaths is Fentanyl, and South America is not involved in it;

- Venezuela is not a main producer of cocaine. The main producers are Colombia (by far), followed by Peru and Brazil.

🙂

 

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Fentanyl-Advisory-Movement-Tab-C-508.pdf

30 minutes ago, candide said:

How is it going to prevent overdose deaths in the US? Considering that:

- the main cause of drug deaths is Fentanyl, and South America is not involved in it;

So blow up the container ships coming out of China.

3 minutes ago, candide said:

I would add a fourth question:

 

How is it going to prevent overdose deaths in the US? Considering that:

- the main cause of drug deaths is Fentanyl, and South America is not involved in it;

- Venezuela is not a main producer of cocaine. The main producers are Colombia (by far), followed by Peru and Brazil.

🙂

 

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Fentanyl-Advisory-Movement-Tab-C-508.pdf

Yeah, you are right.

 

Sounds like Maduro's exit is at the center of it all in my humble opinion.

 

Heard rumors of Iran training terrorists in some island close to the country. Also Putin and Xi would love to get their hands on what I here might be the biggest oil reserve in the world. Close enough to ship heavy crude to Gulf states. Also hear there's lots of gold and other strategic minerals. Plus its location is a good jump off point for the Panama canal and military needs. I also heard somewhere that Venezuela’s collapse (yea Socialism!) triggered one of the largest migration crises in the world which is a serious problem we're left to deal with today.

1 hour ago, Acme said:

Fake news and another desperate attempt to smear Sec/War P Hegseth by the demented and failed democrat enterprise of buffoonery.

 

 

This tiny, most inferior man does not require a whole lot of effort to smear, as he seems to provide the fodder himself on a daily basis. 

Those who served Trump and subsequently went to prison are numerous. It is very much a recurring theme.

1 minute ago, Briggsy said:

Those who served Trump and subsequently went to prison are numerous. It is very much a recurring theme.

Criminals serving a master criminal, who has no moral barometer, and no compunction whatsoever to ever do the right thing, or follow the law. 

 

Why would he have to follow the law? After all he's the king, he's royalty. 

26 minutes ago, mymonkeyhusb said:

Yeah, you are right.

 

Sounds like Maduro's exit is at the center of it all in my humble opinion.

 

Heard rumors of Iran training terrorists in some island close to the country. Also Putin and Xi would love to get their hands on what I here might be the biggest oil reserve in the world. Close enough to ship heavy crude to Gulf states. Also hear there's lots of gold and other strategic minerals. Plus its location is a good jump off point for the Panama canal and military needs. I also heard somewhere that Venezuela’s collapse (yea Socialism!) triggered one of the largest migration crises in the world which is a serious problem we're left to deal with today.

There's indeed a military cooperation with Iran, mainly concerning drones. Any source about "training terrorists"?

 

As concerns oil, it's Trump who canceled oil licenses that had permitted international companies such as Chevron or ENI to operate in Venezuela.

https://bramston.associates/u-s-revokes-venezuelan-oil-licenses-shaking-global-markets-and-geopolitics/

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

This tiny, most inferior man does not require a whole lot of effort to smear, as he seems to provide the fodder himself on a daily basis. 

WAPO lied, like all you democrats do, with impunity. They hate Trumps immense success as you do too. Losers, all democrats, endemic association with chronic failure exacerbated by lies, gaslighting, deceit, fraud, corruption, autopen for a demented cabbage head POTUS. You all got some deep rooted and loose connection with reality, facts, the truth and you are too stupid to learn from past mistakes. Just imagine that tampon pushing health care fraudster and military fraud from Minnesota and his master cackler if they were in office! Maybe they are using hellfire missiles to blow up Afghani families going out for a picnic! At least Trump and Hegseth are openly transparent about their war on narco cartels smuggling poison into America. They could low key everything and never mention these strikes on dope runners and no one would be the wiser. You Trump haters are Just nitpicking since your totally absorbed and consumed with Trump hatred. Intense and total debilitation and forgone sensibilities for all you haters. 

58 minutes ago, candide said:

There's indeed a military cooperation with Iran, mainly concerning drones. Any source about "training terrorists"?

 

As concerns oil, it's Trump who canceled oil licenses that had permitted international companies such as Chevron or ENI to operate in Venezuela.

https://bramston.associates/u-s-revokes-venezuelan-oil-licenses-shaking-global-markets-and-geopolitics/

Wastin' away again in Margaritaville.

 

The training camps are on Margarita Island.

 

The best thing about it is the terrorist training camps are duty free! Isn't that great?

 

Wow. Appears to taken seriously by US government. Maximum pressure is the latest method to deal with Maduro since 2019.

 

"In 2010, an unclassified US Defense Department report to Congress on Iranian military power noted an increased Revolutionary Guard presence in Venezuela, and there are now credible reports of a Hezbollah terrorist training camp on Venezuela’s Margarita Island, as well as in Cuba."

 

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/what-are-russia-iran-and-cuba-doing-in-venezuela/

 

Apologies for the flurry of links that follow. Couldn't find a US government source concerning Margarita Island yet.

 

https://www.thelibertybeacon.com/a-small-venezuelan-island-could-be-reason-behind-the-u-s-military-buildup/

 

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/exclusive-report/exclusive-report-irgc-and-hezbollahs-presence-in-south-america/

 

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/the-maduro-hezbollah-nexus-how-iran-backed-networks-prop-up-the-venezuelan-regime/

 

https://danmason007.substack.com/p/isla-margarita-margarita-island-what

 

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/would-a-new-venezuelan-government-kick-out-hezbollah-/29765060.html

 

https://iranwire.com/en/world/105898-mystery-guests-media-blackout-a-sanctioned-plane-and-a-hezbollah-hotspot-iran-venezuela-tourism-drive-is-off-to-a-strange-start/

5 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

It's well documented that some (21%) were wrongly identified and simply legally doing other things like fishing.

show us the documentation

7 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

With that in mind, why cannot you understand something isn't right here?

possibly because I am not preoccupied with criticising Trump or his staff. Desperate times call for desperate measures, seems only Trump has the courage to take the necessary steps, Its called the war on drugs, collateral damage is regrettable but inevitable in war.

4 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

possibly because I am not preoccupied with criticising Trump or his staff. Desperate times call for desperate measures, seems only Trump has the courage to take the necessary steps, Its called the war on drugs, collateral damage is regrettable but inevitable in war.

 

90% of the drugs come across the southern border, most of the rest by air.

 

This farce of shooting the odd go-fast boat is just red meat for the MAGA morons.......certainly nothing to do with concerns for public health and well being.

George Will (highly esteemed conservative writer if for some reason you don't know him) said it well about Hegseth.

A war criminal without a war.

At the very least, he needs to be fired ASAP!

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

possibly because I am not preoccupied with criticising Trump or his staff. Desperate times call for desperate measures, seems only Trump has the courage to take the necessary steps, Its called the war on drugs, collateral damage is regrettable but inevitable in war.

Utter nonsense you would be better by saying trump doesn’t care about the law and will just do as he pleases and let the underlings pay the price.we would be far and away better served by using the funds squandered on chasing outboard motor boats with an aircraft carrier task force by using such funds to  indirecting smuggling at ports of entry…..all stop 🛑 but there’s no theater to fan the trump base blood lust.just quiet enforcement and capture of smugglers and drugs no drama but solid results.

51 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

George Will (highly esteemed conservative writer if for some reason you don't know him) said it well about Hegseth.

A war criminal without a war.

At the very least, he needs to be fired ASAP!

The full quote from George Will was:

 

 

"Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself"

 

Now watch as some AN posters start calling him a 'lefty' 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Real Name Hidden said:

The full quote from George Will was:

 

 

"Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself"

 

Now watch as some AN posters start calling him a 'lefty' 

 

 

That and/or a RINO.

Which is messed up as maga fascist beliefs have nothing to do with traditional republican party values.

Are you making excuses for international narco-traffickers?

Are you standing up for cross-border drug smugglers?

14 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Extra judicial killings, lets call this what it is. In other words a crime.

 

The terrorism label by the WH is just a guise to attempt to get legal under 'war time' rules with the killings in self defense narrative. Fact is the Americans brought this on themselves, its the Americans who are killing themselves dating back to the slack laws on opioid drug use in the 90's leading to a dependency to self harm today. They created the monster and they are now left killing foreigners running a business overseas. This isn't addressing the route cause at home, just typical knee jerk reactive politics the current admin is renown for.  

current admin??? knee jerk reaction??? This has been going on for decades, this just didn't just start a few months ago. 

 

 America's fault that people like to take drugs??  Is it Thailand's fault that Thai's like to take drugs?

Please tell us all what the answer is so we can save everyone. 

14 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

It's well documented that some (21%) were wrongly identified and simply legally doing other things like fishing. So based on the current modus operandi of the WH, 21% of their kill is innocent victims. With that in mind, why cannot you understand something isn't right here?

well something about your obviously made up statistic certainly did not seem right. I'm not normally one for demanding links or fact checking others, Neither am I a lover of AI  but in this case I thought I would give it a try and see what the results were,  here is what it said...

 

"There is no well-documented or official statistic that states "20% of go fast boats were wrongly identified as drug smugglers". The figure of 20% does not appear in official reports regarding misidentification rates. 

 

As far as I am concerned AI 's credibility has just increased, I can't say the same for yours

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said maritime law enforcement statistics show that not all boats suspected of carrying drugs actually have drugs onboard. He said the military’s strikes were not in line with usual U.S. policy.

 

"When you stop people at sea in international waters, or in your own waters, you announce that you're going to board the ship and you're looking for contraband, smuggling or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami," Paul said Oct. 19 on NBC’s "Meet the Press."

 

"We know from Coast Guard statistics * that about 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship, there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25% of the people might be innocent." 

 

Paul’s figure might not translate directly to the recent boat strikes, experts said, since the U.S. could have had intelligence about those specific vessels.

 

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/oct/22/rand-paul/venezuela-drug-boats-coast-guard-florida/

 

* https://www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/documents/budget/2024/USCG FY2024 Performance Report.pdf?ver=M

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That and/or a RINO.

Which is messed up as maga fascist beliefs have nothing to do with traditional republican party values.

George Will was a great conservative. Now he's just another never-Trumper pandering to the left.

 

 

8 hours ago, Real Name Hidden said:

The full quote from George Will was:

 

 

"Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself"

 

Now watch as some AN posters start calling him a 'lefty' 

 

 

A man of courage speaking truth to the morally the bankrupt coward goons. The Don and Pete circus show continues. Should read an administration incapable of shame. They don't have the self awareness to be ashamed of their corruption, crimes and misdeeds.