Duckworth accuses US of murder over ‘double tap’ on boat strike survivors

Published December 7, 2025 12:25pm ET



Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said the Trump administration committed a “war crime” over the report of its “double tap” order to kill survivors of an alleged drug-carrying vessel.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon are the target of scrutiny over the strikes on boats suspected to be carrying narcotics from Venezuela, with a recent report saying the Trump administration ordered a follow-up strike targeting the two survivors of a destroyed vessel. The White House has defended the strike, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Hegseth tasked Adm. Mitch Bradley with this mission and that it was Bradley, not Hegseth, who ordered the second strike.

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