Hegseth’s Deadly Defiance: War Crimes and Illegal Strikes Across the Globe

On September 2, 2025, U.S. forces fired a missile at a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing nine people instantly and leaving two survivors stranded in the wreckage. Under international and U.S. military law, those survivors were “shipwrecked” and entitled to rescue and aid. Instead, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a second missile strike to kill them all, followed by two more missiles fired at the empty wreckage. This isn’t just a brutal overreach — it’s a war crime.

This strike is far from an isolated incident. Hegseth’s tenure has been marked by a relentless campaign of illegal and unauthorized military actions across the Caribbean, Venezuela, Iran, and Yemen. His approach is defined by a disregard for legal constraints, constitutional limits, and basic humanity, leaving thousands of civilians dead and international norms shredded.

Despite public denials, the U.S. Southern Command confirmed that the September 2 strike was conducted “at the direction of” Hegseth himself. The defense chief’s own words reveal his mindset: he has mocked “stupid rules of engagement,” praised “maximum lethality,” and called for U.S. forces to “hunt and kill” without mercy. This is a man who prays for “overwhelming violence” against those he deems unworthy of compassion.

The Trump-Hegseth administration tried to cloak this Caribbean campaign as a “military action” against “narco-terrorists,” filing a report to Congress under the War Powers Resolution (WPR) that supposedly authorized the use of force. But the WPR is clear: the President must get congressional approval within 60 days or end hostilities. Congress never authorized this campaign, yet the strikes continued, flagrantly violating federal law.

Hegseth’s legal justifications collapse under scrutiny. The administration claims these strikes are not governed by the WPR because they don’t directly endanger U.S. personnel. But the statute’s language explicitly covers “hostilities” broadly, and the administration itself acknowledged it was engaged in armed conflict with cartels. Yet the cartels are criminal organizations, not organized armed groups engaged in a legitimate armed conflict. That means the targets were civilians, making the strikes illegal murder and extrajudicial killings under international law.

The pattern of illegal war-making extends beyond the Caribbean. In January 2026, U.S. forces under Hegseth raided Venezuela and abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife without congressional authorization or United Nations approval — a clear violation of both U.S. and international law. The same disregard for legal process and constitutional checks marked military actions in Iran, where Hegseth boasted of aggressive strikes without consulting Congress.

Hegseth’s war on peace is a war on the rule of law itself. His actions undermine constitutional order, erode democratic oversight, and expose innocent civilians to deadly violence. Unless stopped, this pattern threatens to drag the United States into endless illegal conflicts, staining the nation’s honor and costing countless lives.

We cannot let this stand. The American people and their representatives in Congress must demand accountability for these crimes and restore the legal and moral boundaries that Hegseth has shattered.