'I didn't stick around': Hegseth says he didn't 'personally see survivors' after strike on boat

Pete Hegseth

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday refuted claims that he personally saw survivors from an initial American strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat.

This comes amid mounting criticism over a second strike that reportedly killed men who were still alive in the water.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Hegseth said he had observed the first strike but left the scene soon after.

"I watched that first strike," he told reporters, adding, "I didn't stick around" because he had another meeting.

He said he "did not personally see survivors" and described the aftermath by saying, "the thing was on fire... this is called the fog of war."

The remarks come as the Pentagon and the White House face intense scrutiny over the alleged follow-up strike on the already destroyed vessel.

Reports that two survivors were killed in that second attack have instigated accusations from lawmakers that what happened may be called a war crime.

Administration officials have attempted to shield Hegseth from responsibility for authorising the follow-up strike, instead placing the decision on the admiral who directed the mission.

Despite the growing controversy, Hegseth signalled that the campaign against suspected narcotics traffickers will continue.

During the same cabinet meeting, he said, "We have only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco terrorists at the bottom of the ocean, because they have been poisoning the American people."

On Monday, White House had backed Hegseth over the issue. The White House, in its statement on Monday, insisted that the Navy officer in charge acted legally when he ordered a second hit on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in September.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice Admiral Frank Bradley, the then head of Joint Special Operations Command, “worked well within his authority and the law,” stressing that he had been empowered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.