Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing fury online after he attempted to make light of U.S. military assaults on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.
The Washington Post last week reported that Hegseth ordered a U.S. strike force to kill everyone on board one vessel in September. When two survivors were seen in the wreckage, commanders launched a second “double tap” strike to kill them.
Critics have called that a violation of international law, with some saying the report, if true, could be evidence of war crimes or murder.
Hegseth has denied the allegations and on Sunday, posted a mock “Franklin the Turtle” children’s book cover referencing the operation:
“I think it’s very possible there was a war crime committed,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
