U.S Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is lashing out at a report that he ordered military officials to "kill them all" during one of the Trump administration's strikes in the Caribbean aimed a boat allegedly carrying drug cargo.

"As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland," Hegseth, 45, said in a Nov. 28 post on X.

The defense secretary was responding to a Washington Post story citing two anonymous sources that claimed he ordered troops to leave no survivors after a missile struck the vessel, which was traveling off the Trinidad coast, as two individuals were clinging to the smoldering wreckage.

Since September, the Trump administration has attacked at least 21 boats traversing international waters, killing 83 people. Trump and other officials defend the boat strikes as an attempt to crackdown on illegal narcotics flooding into the U.S., but lawmakers from both parties have criticized the administration for providing no intelligence briefings or other evidence about what the vessels are carrying.

"At this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said during an Oct. 26 appearance on Fox News Sunday. "This is akin to what China does, what Iran does with drug dealers − they summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it's wrong."

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who shared the story about Hegseth's alleged order, raised similar concerns about the constitutionality of the strikes in an Nov. 28 post on X.

"If you want to know why Hegseth is panicking about reminders that there is accountably for giving or carrying out illegal orders, it’s likely because he knows he has given illegal orders to murder people," Murphy said.

The report comes amid a U.S. military buildup near Venezuela, which Trump has argued is necessary to combat gangs, such as Tren de Aragua, and others like Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. A Venezuelan criminal organization known as Cartel de los Soles, for example, was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. on Nov. 24.

Hegseth defends ditching 'kid gloves approach' to drug war

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which are at the center of humanitarian rules and international standards, any wounded or sick combatants are to be retrieved and receive care by either side in a conflict.

But in his Nov. 28 post slamming the report, Hegseth argued that each "trafficker we kill is affiliated" with a terrorist group and the current U.S. operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law.

"The Biden administration preferred the kid gloves approach, allowing millions of people — including dangerous cartels and unvetted Afghans — to flood our communities with drugs and violence," he said.

"The Trump administration has sealed the border and gone on offense against narco-terrorists. Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them."

Legal scholars and others, however, continue to raise questions about the legality of the boat strikes and spokespersons for the White House, Justice Department and the Pentagon have not responded to USA TODAY requests for comment on what laws the administration is using to justify the attacks.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an Nov. 28 statement that his powerful panel has directed inquiries to the defense department about the strikes, "and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances."

Wicker, along with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking Democrat on the committee, have sent Hegseth multiple requests for basic information including legal justifications and intelligence underpinning individual strikes.

Several legal experts have spoken out, too, saying Trump and his administration's rationale marks an unprecedented step by U.S. using the military, rather than law enforcement, to enforce the drug war with congressional approval.

During Trump's first term he expressed admiration for foreign leaders who instituted the death penalty for drug traffickers, including former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte who is facing crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court for war on drugs policies.

Trump said last month he saw no reason to involve Congress when asked about the boat strikes, suggesting lawmakers and voters wouldn't mind such actions in the name of stopping illegal narcotics.

"I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war," Trump said. "I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Hegseth lashes out at 'kill them all' report on boat strikes

Reporting by Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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