U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Tuesday that congressional committees will receive exclusive access to unedited footage of September’s contentious boat strike in the Caribbean, while maintaining the video will remain classified from public view. The announcement followed a classified Senate briefing attended by both Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the Trump administration’s ongoing military operations targeting alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking operations.
The briefing revealed sharp partisan divisions, with Republicans largely endorsing the administration’s aggressive stance while Democrats raised substantial legal and ethical concerns. These concerns intensified following recent reports that two survivors of the initial September 2 attack were killed in a subsequent strike while clinging to their burning vessel.
Hours before the Capitol Hill briefing, the military announced new strikes in the Pacific Ocean resulting in eight fatalities, bringing the total death toll to at least 90 since operations began. Hegseth specified that only members of the House and Senate armed services committees would view the full September footage, citing longstanding Department of Defense protocols regarding top-secret materials.
This selective disclosure occurs amid legislative pressure through a defense spending bill that would mandate Pentagon transparency with armed services committees regarding strikes in the Southern Command region. The administration’s social media announcements of strikes typically feature grainy video clips without substantive evidence of drug trafficking or detailed vessel inventories.
Republican lawmakers including Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) defended the operations as necessary for national security, with Graham explicitly framing them as part of a broader regime change objective against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Conversely, Democratic leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) demanded full transparency, with Schiff preparing a formal request for congressional-wide video release. The operations have drawn diplomatic condemnation from Venezuela, with Maduro accusing the U.S. of regional destabilization and Attorney General Tarek William Saab characterizing Trump’s allegations as resource-driven envy.
Navy Admiral Frank Bradley, who acknowledged ordering the controversial second strike, is scheduled to brief armed services committees Wednesday as legal questions persist regarding the legality of attacks in international waters.