Speaker Johnson Backs Venezuela Boat Strike, Calls Action ‘Entirely Appropriate’ After Viewing Classified Video
House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a staunch defense of the U.S. military’s highly controversial second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat, declaring the operation “entirely appropriate” after viewing the classified video footage and receiving a private briefing from the admiral who ordered the action. The Speaker’s comments, made on Thursday, stand in sharp contrast to the descriptions offered by some Democratic lawmakers who viewed the same footage, which showed two initial survivors being killed in a follow-up strike.
The September 2nd incident, which has become a major flashpoint between the Pentagon and Congress, involved two men who survived an initial military strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel. They were subsequently killed by a second strike as they clung to the wreckage. Speaker Johnson, who missed the initial classified briefing for the “Gang of Eight,” said he was briefed by Admiral Frank Bradley, who commanded the operation. Johnson stated he was fully satisfied with the intelligence and legality of the action, arguing that the two men were “able-bodied” and were not helpless survivors.
“The individuals on that vessel were not helpless castaways,” Johnson told reporters. “They were drug runners on a capsized drug boat, and by all indications, attempting to recover it so they could continue pushing drugs to kill Americans.” He further stated that the U.S. had “exquisite intelligence” indicating another cartel vessel was approaching to assist the survivors, leading to the decision to order the second strike. Other lawmakers, including Democrats, who have seen the video have described the footage as “deeply disturbing” and have questioned whether the action could constitute a war crime, arguing the men were clearly incapacitated and trying to survive. Mr. Johnson, however, reaffirmed that legal counsel was consulted at every step and that the operation “followed the law; it followed protocol.”
The Pentagon is currently weighing whether to release the full, unedited video to the entire Congress, as demanded in the recently advanced $900 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which threatens to withhold part of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s budget if he refuses to comply.
