By Olivia Gazis
Updated on: December 5, 2025 / 10:15 PM EST / CBS News
Two people who survived an initial U.S. strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 were recorded waving at aircraft before being killed in a subsequent strike, two sources familiar with a video shown to lawmakers told CBS News. One source said the gestures could be read as signals for help or, alternatively, as attempts to deter aircraft from firing.
The New York Times first reported the new detail. The Sept. 2 action was the opening episode in a series of more than 20 strikes on suspected drug boats carried out by the Trump administration in recent months. Administration officials maintain the campaign is necessary to disrupt narcotics trafficking; critics argue many of the attacks lack legal justification. The military reports that more than 80 people have died in the series of strikes, including 11 on Sept. 2.
The operation has drawn renewed scrutiny after reporting that a follow-up strike killed two people who had survived the initial attack. Some Democrats and legal experts say attacking shipwrecked survivors could amount to a war crime. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed a second strike took place, calling it lawful and saying it was meant to “ensure the boat was destroyed.”
Members of Congress were shown footage of the incidents, including the strike that killed the two survivors, during a closed-door briefing led by the operation’s commander, Adm. Mitch Bradley, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Lawmakers left the session with sharply different takes on what the video showed. Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said the individuals appeared to be clearly in distress and unable to move, calling the images among the most troubling of his public-service career. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said the gestures looked like attempts to flip a boat loaded with drugs so the crew could resume their mission, and defended the Sept. 2 strikes as lawful and necessary.
Multiple lawmakers said Adm. Bradley told them there was no instruction from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill everyone onboard.” President Trump said he would back releasing the video publicly and, when asked whether he would support killing survivors, replied that he did not and expressed support instead for the decision to “knock out the boats.”
The incident has intensified debate over the rules governing U.S. strikes at sea and the balance between counter-narcotics operations and the protection of noncombatants. Jaala Brown and Kaia Hubbard contributed to this report.