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Senate to Put Military Officials “Under Oath” in Probe of Reported Caribbean Follow‑Up Strikes

Sen. Mark Kelly said the Senate Armed Services Committee will put military officials "under oath" as it investigates reported follow-up U.S. strikes on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. Media reports say a Sept. 2 second strike killed remaining survivors from an earlier attack; the campaign, authorized by President Trump, has reportedly killed more than 80 people and heightened tensions with Venezuela. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the operations as "lethal, kinetic strikes" and lawful, while the State Department designated Cartel de los Soles a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Nov. 24. Committee leaders promise vigorous oversight, including public hearings.

02:00 PM, 12/01/2025Security

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the panel will put military officials "under oath" as it investigates reports of follow-up strikes on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.

“We’re going to have an investigation. We’re going to have a public hearing. We’re going to put these folks under oath. And we’re going to find out what happened. And then, there needs to be accountability,” Kelly told NBC’s Kristen Welker.

According to media reports, a second U.S. strike on Sept. 2 reportedly killed the remaining survivors of an earlier attack on the same vessel off Venezuela’s coast. The strike was described as the opening action in a broader campaign of operations authorized by President Trump targeting vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Officials have said the campaign has resulted in more than 80 deaths among people the administration alleges were involved in moving drugs toward the United States. The operations have also increased tensions with Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on the social platform X that the missions “are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” adding that “every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.” Hegseth also said the operations are lawful under U.S. and international law, comply with the law of armed conflict, and were reviewed by military and civilian legal advisers across the chain of command.

On Nov. 24, the State Department designated Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, alleging the group is involved in trafficking drugs into the United States and asserting links to Maduro.

Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the chair and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said the committee will conduct “vigorous oversight,” signaling formal inquiries and public hearings are likely as part of the review.

The committee’s forthcoming investigation aims to clarify the sequence of events, legal justification and chain-of-command decisions behind the strikes, and to determine whether further accountability measures are warranted.

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