Washington, DC — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video footage of a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean that killed survivors of an initial attack, even as bipartisan pressure in Congress mounts for greater transparency.
Hegseth said members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees will be allowed to review the footage in classified settings, but the administration will not make the video available to the public. The strike in question occurred Sept. 2, when a U.S. attack on a boat allegedly involved in drug trafficking left two survivors who were later killed in a follow-up strike. The broader counter-drug campaign across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has resulted in at least 95 deaths across 25 known strikes.
After a closed-door briefing, Senate Democrats expressed frustration, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying officials arrived “empty handed.” Several lawmakers are now pushing for broader access, including Sen. Adam Schiff, who plans to introduce a resolution compelling release, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who called for a congressional subpoena. Some Republicans also broke ranks, with Sen. Rand Paul arguing the American public should see the footage and noting the absence of evidence that the targeted boats carried weapons.
The controversy has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s military posture near Venezuela. While officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio have defended the operations as lawful counter-drug actions, critics argue the strikes blur the line between law enforcement and armed conflict. Trump has not sought congressional authorization for the campaign, raising constitutional and legal questions that are now squarely before Congress.
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