When Congressman Jason Crow and five Democratic colleagues with military and intelligence service released a video on social media urging troops to refuse orders “that violate the law or our Constitution,” detractors complained the message was dangerously ambiguous; it implied the administration was giving illegal orders but provided no specific examples.
These critics had a point, that is, until The Washington Post exposed one such incident, a potential war crime no less. Turns out, the video’s warning about illegal orders was right on target.
Whether the episode will garner the bipartisan scrutiny it deserves, time will tell. Republicans in Congress have been hesitant to criticize the Trump administration, fearing retribution — a Trump-backed primary opponent, an agency investigation, or a lawsuit.
With President Trump’s approval rating dropping to a near-low of 36% in the most recent Gallop poll, they might find the courage to defy their leader. Let’s hope so. The illegal order exposed by The Washington Post isn’t the only one worth questioning.
According to the news story, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commanded “kill them all” before a September 2 military strike on an alleged drug boat that slew 11, including two who survived the first strike and were clinging to the wreckage. Firing upon shipwrecked combatants is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Department of Defense’s own Law of War Manual.
Hegseth assailed the allegation as “fake news” on a social media post that also boasted “Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them.” He was referring to the 80-plus suspected drug traffickers whose boats the military has blown up in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September.
Hegseth also tweeted a meme of Franklin the Turtle firing missiles at drug boats further undermining his credibility and assuring him another cameo on South Park. The Canadian publisher of Franklin the Turtle has since condemned the misuse of their children’s storybook character to depict violence. Later, Hegseth tried to distance himself from the incident, claiming he had left the room after the first strike, and then by saying the “fog of war” prevented him from seeing the survivors.
U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees have opened investigations into the incident. To do it justice, they need to examine the wider situation. While killing the incapacitated is a war crime, we have not declared war on Venezuela. Moreover, the alleged drug traffickers targeted by these missiles are not soldiers; they are civilians. They pose no imminent threat to troops. Labeling them “narco-terrorists” doesn’t negate military rules of engagement. Even if they are guilty of drug trafficking, killing them isn’t a justifiable use of the military power. Their deaths are extrajudicial executions.
And if they aren’t guilty? This week, the family of a Colombian man who was killed in a strike made an official complaint against the U.S. with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He was a fisherman, they say, the primary breadwinner for a family of six and they want compensation for their loss. It’s hard to secure evidence of guilt or innocence post-obliteration. Bomb first, ask questions later doesn’t work.
There are lawful ways to intercept drugs and bring drug traffickers to justice that assure due process, protect the innocent, and maintain the integrity of the armed forces. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Border Patrol regularly seize illicit drugs and arrest smugglers who are then prosecuted in federal courts.
One such drug trafficker, Juan Orlando Hernández, former president of Honduras, was arrested by the DEA in 2022, extradited to the U.S., tried, and convicted of moving more than 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. Although sentenced to 45 years in prison, he walked free this week thanks to a pardon by President Donald Trump.
During the upcoming hearings on Hegseth’s “kill them all” moment, senators and representatives should inquire why suspected, low-level smugglers get death without due process and convicted kingpins walk.
They should also ask Hegseth if he plans to bomb civilian targets on the Venezuelan mainland, as Trump alluded to this week.
Is the man who renamed the Department of Defense, the Department of War, itching to start one? Is he aware that only Congress has the authority to declare war? If not, the committee could take the opportunity to show the secretary a recently-released video about the military’s responsibility to uphold the law and the Constitution.
Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.
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