Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Department of War will “always have the back” of commanders “making decisions in difficult situations.”
The White House and Pentagon continued to grapple with reports that a follow-up strike in the Caribbean Sea may have hit survivors of an earlier attack on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel.
"We're taking the fight to these designated terror organizations. And that's exactly what we're doing," Hegseth said during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting aired live in full on Newsmax.
"We've only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they've been poisoning the American people," Hegseth said. "Joe Biden tried to approach it with kid gloves and allowed them to come across the border."
Hegseth framed the campaign as a deterrence effort rather than what he called the "rinse-and-repeat approach of previous administrations."
He added that cartels have taken over the nation's communities, resulting in "hundreds of thousands of Americans poisoned."
"President Trump said, 'No, we're taking the gloves off,'" Hegseth said. "'We're taking the fight to these designated terror organizations.'"
Trump also commented, noting that drugs coming into the United States "by sea are down 91% ... I don't know who the 9% is."
"We've had a bit of a pause because it's hard to find boats to strike right now, which is the entire point, right?" Hegseth said. "Deterrence has to matter, not arrest and hand over and then do it again."
Hegseth ended by tying his stance to Trump and pledging departmental support for commanders involved in the strikes.
"I will just end by saying, as President Trump always has our back, we always have the back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations," he said.
"And we do in this case, and all these strikes, they're making judgment calls and ensuring that they defend the American people," said Hegseth. "They've done the right things. We'll keep doing that. And we have their backs."
Earlier Tuesday, the War Department accused The Washington Post of falsely attributing remarks to Hegseth in its coverage of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean.
The controversy stems from a Sept. 2 operation in which a second strike was carried out after the initial hit left survivors.
The follow-up attack has raised concerns among lawmakers and legal experts, who question whether targeting individuals no longer posing an imminent threat may constitute a violation of the laws of war.
"Our operations in the SOUTHCOM region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict," Department of War press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters.
"These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command," Wilson said.
But, she added, "a completely fake story in The Washington Post, now discredited by the New York Times, tried to mischaracterize these successful strikes in bad faith. It was an attempt to damage the secretary and the president, and the people saw through it."
The White House has confirmed the follow-up decision was made by Vice Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley under existing authorities, and Wilson said that Hegseth stands behind Bradley's decision "100%."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials. Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app. Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.