Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all

As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors.

November 28, 2025 at 12:29 p.m. EST54 minutes ago

9 min

(The Washington Post)

By Alex Horton

and

Ellen Nakashima

Reach the reporters securely on Signal: Alex Horton at AlexHorton.85 and Ellen Nakashima at Ellen.626.

The longer the U.S. surveillance aircraft followed the boat, the more confident intelligence analysts watching from command centers became that the 11 people on board were ferrying drugs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said.

What readers are saying

The comments overwhelmingly condemn the U.S. military's actions in the Caribbean boat strike, labeling them as illegal and equating them to murder and war crimes. Many commenters specifically criticize Pete Hegseth, suggesting he should be tried and convicted for issuing unlawful... Show more

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By Alex Horton

Alex Horton is a national security reporter for The Washington Post focused on the U.S. military. He served in Iraq as an Army infantryman. Send him secure tips on Signal at alexhorton.85@AlexHortonTX

By Ellen Nakashima

Ellen Nakashima is an intelligence and national security reporter at The Washington Post. She's been a member of three Pulitzer prizewinning teams, for probing the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the hidden scope of government surveillance. Send her secure tips on Signal at Ellen.626 @nakashimae

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