Calls grow to release video of deadly U.S. air strike near Venezuela
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - From Capitol Hill, calls are growing louder to release the video of the September 2 air strike on an alleged drug boat near Venezuela that killed survivors of the first hit.
Critics are calling it a war crime while in a new interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," one leading Republican lawmaker, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, defended the move, arguing the survivors were not incapacitated by the first strike.
Signs of an intensifying campaign against drug traffickers in the Caribbean, with the Trump Administration sending more U.S. troops to Puerto Rico for training, and President Donald Trump saying he may move from strikes on alleged drug boats at sea to land in Venezuela and other countries.
"We know every route, we know every house, we know where they live," President Trump remarked.
The president hosted the Kennedy Center Honors overnight as lawmakers sound off on the strikes, zeroing in on the "double-tap" back in September that killed two survivors of an initial strike.
"They're unlawful. They're unconstitutional," said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Congress is investigating, with many Democrats calling it a war crime and calling on the administration to release the video.
"This video was profoundly shaken, shaking, and I think it's important for Americans to see it," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT).
This comes amid new details about what Admiral Frank Bradley, who ordered the strike, told lawmakers in closed-door testimony.
The admiral said he consulted with a military lawyer throughout the operation, and an official and a person familiar with the briefing told NBC News that Admiral Bradley said the boat's cargo was bound for Europe or Africa, not the U.S.
The sources also said military aircraft spotted the survivors waving their arms.
Republicans defending the move, with Sen. Cotton saying, "It looked at one point like they were trying to flip the boat back over, presumably to rescue the cargo and continue the mission."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also justifying the campaign saying, "We will keep killing them so long as they are poisoning our people with narcotics."
While Trump said releasing the video would be no problem, Secretary Hegseth would not commit to it, saying the Pentagon is reviewing.
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing a resolution aiming to block U.S. military action in Venezuela, unless authorized by Congress while Cotton, the Republican chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee argued the president does not need congressional approval to continue the strikes on boats at sea.
