Report: Boat Involved in Double-Tap Strike Was Meeting Ship Headed to Suriname

Alleged drug traffickers killed by the U.S. military in a Sept. 2 strike were en route to rendezvous with a larger vessel bound for Suriname, the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers Thursday, two sources familiar with his remarks told CNN.

Adm. Frank Bradley said U.S. intelligence indicated the targeted boat planned to meet the second vessel and transfer drugs, but U.S. forces were unable to locate the larger ship, according to a CNN report.

Bradley told lawmakers there was still a possibility the shipment could have ultimately reached the United States from Suriname, the sources said, arguing that the possibility justified striking the smaller boat even though it was not headed toward the U.S. at the time.

U.S. drug enforcement officials say trafficking routes through Suriname primarily serve European markets, while U.S.-bound routes in recent years have largely shifted to the Pacific.

The information adds another complication to the Trump administration’s assertion that multiple strikes on the boat, including those that killed survivors, were necessary to counter an imminent threat to the United States.

Shortly after the strike, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Florida that the targeted vessel was “probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean.” President Donald Trump, by contrast, said in a Sept. 2 statement announcing the strike that the individuals were “transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.”

Bradley, who led Joint Special Operations Command at the time, also acknowledged that the boat had turned around before being struck, apparently after those on board spotted a U.S. aircraft, the sources said. CNN previously reported the boat reversed course before being hit.

The U.S. military ultimately struck the vessel four times, CNN reported Thursday. The initial strike split the boat in half, leaving two survivors clinging to debris. Subsequent strikes killed the survivors and sank what remained of the vessel.

Bradley told lawmakers the survivors were waving at something in the air, the sources said, though it was unclear whether they were attempting to surrender or calling for help.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Killing shipwrecked individuals is considered a war crime under the Pentagon’s law of war manual, which defines such persons as needing assistance and required to refrain from hostile acts. While most Republicans have supported Trump’s broader military campaign in the Caribbean, the secondary Sept. 2 strike has drawn bipartisan scrutiny, including a pledge by the Senate Armed Services Committee to conduct oversight.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s role in the follow-on strike — including the orders he gave Bradley — remains under examination. Lawmakers were told Thursday that Hegseth had directed before the mission that the strikes should be lethal, CNN reported, but that he was not informed about the survivors until after they had been killed, one source said.

A U.S. official said Bradley understood the mission to require killing all 11 people on board and sinking the vessel. The official added that the guidance did not constitute an explicit order to deny quarter — killing individuals who attempt to surrender — which carries specific legal implications and is unlawful.