US Military Conducts "Double Tap" Strike on Caribbean Vessel, Killing 11 Including Shipwrecked Survivors

The US military conducted a controversial “double tap” strike in international waters in the Caribbean, killing all 11 people aboard a suspected drug vessel. The first strike killed nine individuals and set the boat ablaze. Minutes later, Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, then commander of Joint Special Operations Command, ordered a second strike targeting two survivors who were clinging to debris in the water. According to witnesses, “those two men were blown apart in the water.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorized Bradley to conduct the strikes and communicated he wanted everyone aboard killed.

The Trump administration claimed the vessel was operated by members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that Trump had designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025. The White House defended the operation as lawful under international law and conducted “in self-defense to protect Americans and vital United States interests.” However, the second strike against shipwrecked survivors sparked immediate legal controversy and bipartisan congressional investigations.

Multiple legal experts and lawmakers characterized the second strike as a potential war crime. Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine on the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated unequivocally: “If the facts are as have been alleged, that’s a stone-cold war crime.” King cited Section 18.3.2.1 of the Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual, which states that “orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal” and that “persons incapacitated by shipwreck are in a helpless state.” Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall called it “a textbook example of a war crime.” Georgetown law professor David Cole noted that maritime law established after World War II provides “very clear protections” for survivors in water who cannot retreat or pose threats.

Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees launched bipartisan investigations into the incident. The strike marked the opening operation in what would become a broader campaign of military strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean, with over 80 people killed in subsequent operations. Admiral Bradley was promoted from commander of Joint Special Operations Command to four-star commander of US Special Operations Command one month after the strike, despite the mounting controversy over his order to kill shipwrecked survivors.