'I watched it live', Hegseth told Fox the day after September strike where shipwreck survivors were killed [View all]

Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, suggested on Monday that he did not give a direct command to have two survivors of a strike of a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean in September killed in a follow-up attack.

But the morning after the attack, of 3 September, Hegseth told his former colleagues on the morning show Fox & Friends that he had monitored the operation in real time.

“I can tell you that was definitely not artificial intelligence: I watched it live,” Hegseth said.

Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, discussed a lethal strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean during an appearance on Fox News on 3 September.

On Sunday, Donald Trump told reporters that Hegseth had told him that he did not order a second strike to kill “the two men”.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/dec/01/donald-trump-pete-hegseth-caribbean-boats-venezuela-immigration-us-politics-latest-news-updates