Admiral says there was no 'kill them all' order in boat attack, but
video alarms lawmakers
[December 05, 2025]
By STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy admiral commanding the U.S. military strikes on
an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean told lawmakers Thursday that there
was no “kill them all” order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but a
stark video of the attack left grave questions as Congress scrutinizes
the campaign that killed two survivors.
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door
classified briefings at the Capitol as lawmakers conduct an
investigation after a report that he ordered the follow-on attack that
killed the survivors to comply with Hegesth’s demands. Legal experts
have said such a strike could be a violation of the laws of military
warfare.
“Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no
quarter or to kill them all,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, who heads the Senate
Intelligence Committee, as he exited a classified briefing.
While Cotton, R-Ark., defended the attack, Democrats who were also
briefed and saw video of the survivors being killed questioned the Trump
administration’s rationale and said the incident was deeply concerning.
“The order was basically: Destroy the drugs, kill the 11 people on the
boat,” said Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House
Armed Services Committee.
Smith, who is demanding further investigation, said the survivors were
“basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and
inoperable boat, drifting in the water — until the missiles come and
kill them.”
The classified sessions with Bradley, alongside the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, provided fresh information at a
crucial moment as Hegseth's leadership comes under scrutiny. But they
did little to resolve growing questions about the legal basis for
President Donald Trump's extraordinary campaign to use war powers
against suspected drug smugglers. So far more than 80 people have been
killed in some 20 strikes.
Late Thursday, U.S. Southern Command announced it had conducted another
strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean following a
pause of almost three weeks. There were four casualties, according to
the social media post.
Lawmakers have not yet specifically authorized the use of military force
against the alleged drug boats, and the Republican-controlled Congress
has turned back attempts to put a check on Trump’s power to engage in
the missile campaign, which Hegseth has vowed will continue. Several
Democrats have called for Hegseth to resign.
Congressional investigation gets underway
Lawmakers want a full accounting of the Sept. 2 strike, which was the
first in what has become a monthslong series of U.S. military attacks on
vessels near Venezuela believed to be ferrying drugs. The Washington
Post had reported that Bradley ordered the follow-on attack on the
survivors.
But lawmakers who lead the House and Senate's national security
committees in Congress came away with different descriptions of what the
two survivors were doing when they were killed.
Cotton said he saw them "trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound
for United States back over so they could stay in the fight.”
He said there were “several minutes” between the first and second
attacks, which consisted of four missile strikes. He said it was
“gratifying” that the U.S. military was taking “the battle” to cartels.
But Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House
Intelligence Committee, said, “what I saw in that room was one of the
most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service.”
“You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of
locomotion, with a destroyed vessel," he said, and who "were killed by
the United States."
The survivors did not issue any distress call or other communications,
though lawmakers were told it appeared the people had a hand raised,
“waving” at one point during the attacks, Smith said.
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U.S. Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley walks along a hallway after a
meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Smith acknowledged there was likely cocaine on the boat, but he
objects to the Republican administration’s rationale for continued
attacks on alleged drug runners who may or may not be heading to the
United States. “That’s really the core of the problem with all of
this,” he said. “That incredibly broad definition, I think, is what
sets in motion all of these problems about using lethal force and
using the military.”
Who is Adm. Bradley?
At the time of the attack, Bradley was the commander of Joint
Special Operations Command, overseeing coordinated operations
between the military's elite special operations units out of Fort
Bragg in North Carolina. About a month after the strike, he was
promoted to commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.
His military career, spanning more than three decades, was mostly
spent serving in the elite Navy SEALs and commanding joint
operations. He was among the first special forces officers to deploy
to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. His latest promotion to
admiral was approved by unanimous voice vote in the Senate this
year, and Democratic and Republican senators praised his record.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has described Bradley as among those who
are “rock solid” and “the most extraordinary people that have ever
served in the military.”
But lawmakers like Tillis have also made it clear they expect a
reckoning if it is found that survivors were targeted. “Anybody in
the chain of command that was responsible for it, that had vision of
it, needs to be held accountable,” he said.
What else are lawmakers seeking?
Underpinning Trump’s campaign against suspected traffickers is his
argument that drug cartels amount to armed combatants because their
cargo poses a threat to American lives.
Democrats are demanding the release of the full video of the Sept. 2
attack, as well as written records of the orders and any directives
about the mission from Hegseth. None of the written orders or audio
of verbal commands was shared with the lawmakers.
A White House Office of Legal Counsel memo providing a rationale for
the strikes was dated after the fact, on Sept. 5. That memo remains
undisclosed, and Democrats want it released.
Obtaining further information, though, will largely depend on action
from Republican lawmakers, who have majority control of the
committees, a potentially painful prospect for them if it puts them
at odds with the president.
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services
Committee, said that he and the Senate Armed Services Committee
chair, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker, have formally requested the executive
orders authorizing the operations and the complete videos from the
strikes, among other items. The Trump administration has repeatedly
denied their requests for basic information about the operation,
Reed said.
Republican lawmakers who are close to Trump have largely stood by
Hegseth and the administration's decision to conduct the strikes.
Elsewhere, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and others see the
U.S. military operation as part of an effort to prompt a government
change in the South American country. Maduro on Wednesday
acknowledged speaking last month by phone with Trump, who confirmed
the call days earlier.
___
Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick and Regina Garcia Cano
in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
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