Pete Hegseth says he saw no survivors in September boat raid due to ‘fog of war’

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth referred to what he called the “fog of war” to defend a subsequent military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, which reportedly killed survivors of the initial attack.

“I personally have not seen any survivors,” Hegseth told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday. “The thing was on fire. It exploded in fire and smoke. You couldn’t see it.”

“This is called the fog of war,” he added.

In September, U.S. forces launched a raid on a boat in the Caribbean Sea suspected of drug smuggling, then ordered a second raid after the first raid on the boat failed to kill all the ship’s passengers, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the Pentagon’s actions that day told NBC News.

The Pentagon said at the time of the raid that the boat was carrying 11 people. Since then, the United States has launched more than 20 raids on alleged drug ships it says carry drugs from Venezuela, killing more than 80 people.

In response, bipartisan lawmakers in both the House and Senate launched investigations into the strikes, which critics said could constitute a war crime.

Hegseth’s comments come as Trump and the White House have come to his defense amid scrutiny of the attack. White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Monday that Hegseth authorized Admiral Frank Bradley to order the strikes.