Hegseth doubles down, defends strikes on alleged drug boats off Venezuela

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, now referred to by the Trump administration as War Secretary, is defending controversial military strikes off of Venezuela's coast, dismissing criticism and asserting the president's power to defend the nation by taking any necessary military action "as he sees fit."At the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, Hegseth compared the fight against drug smuggling to the war on terror following the 9/11 attacks. And, despite scrutiny from legal experts and lawmakers concerned that the second strike in September's attack may have violated international wartime laws, Hegseth has repeatedly defended the action, claiming he did not see any survivors after the initial strike due to the "fog of war.""Right now the world is seeing the strength of American resolve and stemming the flow of lethal drugs to our country," Hegseth said. "Here again, we've been focused and here we've been clear, if you're working for a designated terrorist organization and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you."Amid the growing controversy, the Navy admiral who carried out the strikes met with lawmakers privately last week, reportedly saying that Hegseth did not give him a "kill them all" order in the attack.During Saturday's speech, Hegseth laid out a strategy centered on "strength" rather than conflict, suggesting that the U.S. should check China's rise to power by resuming nuclear testing, putting the U.S. on equal footing with both China and Russia. Hegseth also named distractions that he believes could hurt military readiness and national security, including "wokeness," climate change, and democracy-building efforts abroad.The Trump administration has reportedly carried out at least 20 similar strikes, which have killed more than 80 people in total.Watch the latest coverage on the alleged drug-smuggling boat strikes:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, now referred to by the Trump administration as War Secretary, is defe