Hegseth Defends Second September Drug Boat Strike

He suggested the strikes are meant to protect Americans, comparing the actions to the war on terror that commenced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Dec. 6, 2025. Caylo Seals/Getty Images

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Dec. 6 that he supports the decision in early September to initiate a second strike on a drug boat in the South Caribbean that killed two survivors of a previous strike.

“I fully support that strike,” Hegseth said while speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Dec. 6.