Ex-Secretary of Defense Declares There’s No Question a ‘War Crime’ Was Committed if Hegseth Attacked Drug Boat Survivors

Sean James Dec 1st, 2025, 1:02 pm

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said there is no doubt a “war crime” was committed if a recent report that current SecDef Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike to kill survivors of an attack on a suspected drug boat is true.

Panetta, who served in the same position as Hegseth under ex-President Barack Obama , shared his thoughts during an interview on CNN’s on Monday morning.

Co-host Wolf Blitzer asked him about the WaPo report , which said the second strike in the Caribbean in early September was carried out after Hegseth said to “kill everybody” on the boat. Two survivors were killed in the followup strike

See Full Page