US airstrike survivors clung to boat wreckage before second deadly attack, video shows

A video shown to US lawmakers depicts an illegal American military airstrike on two survivors clinging to a boat in the Caribbean Sea. 

The footage, which key lawmakers viewed on Thursday, shows the US strike on September 2 that severely damaged the boat. Two shirtless survivors clung to the wreckage for about an hour before a second airstrike killed them and sank the vessel.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, accompanied Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley, who led the operation, to Capitol Hill on Thursday to explain the decision to execute the follow-up strike on the incapacitated survivors.

Caine suggested that the alleged "drug boat" might be afloat due to cocaine packets onboard and expressed concern that the survivors could communicate for rescue or attempt to deliver the drugs back to the US.

However, lawmakers noted that the video showed no evidence of radios or satellite phones, and a surveillance plane did not spot any nearby vessels.

Legal experts, including some lawmakers, have indicated that the killing of 87 individuals in the 22 announced US strikes violates American and international law. Some lawmakers label the killings as murder and a war crime.

“You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion who were killed by the United States,” said Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

He called the video “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”

Venezuelan president warns US trying to seize country's oil reserves

The Venezuelan president has condemned Washington

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, from the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated that the briefing confirmed his worst fears about the military activities of the Trump administration.

Following the briefing, Southern Command announced that US forces had killed another four individuals in their 22nd attack on "drug" boats in recent months.

In a statement and a video shared on social media, Southern Command indicated that the latest airstrike in the Eastern Pacific was directed by War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The strikes have raised questions among House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, military appropriators, and have drawn condemnation from legal experts, rights groups, and Democratic lawmakers.

Some have called for Hegseth's resignation over the illegal airstrikes.

Trump administration officials have framed the deployment of US forces in and around Venezuela as part of a broader effort to deter drug smuggling. However, Caracas and analysts say the pressure is aimed at toppling the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

US senators introduce war powers resolution to block Trump’s 'hostilities' in Venezuela

Senate lawmakers introduce war powers resolution to rein in US President Donald Trump’s "hostilities" in Venezuela.

In response, a group of bipartisan senators introduced a war powers resolution aimed at blocking President Trump’s unauthorized military actions in Venezuela.

They warned that the administration risks dragging the US into an “unnecessary foreign war.”

The resolution would require the president to withdraw US forces from Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by Congress.

Last week, Trump stated that US military forces near Venezuela would “very soon” take ground action against the country.

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