US House to close investigation into Caribbean boat attack

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Speaking to reporters, Republican Mike Rogers said he had already received all the information necessary to resolve the matter, and that “everything is done,” without giving a time frame for ending the investigation. Last week, he was among the parliamentarians who heard details of the attack from Admiral Frank Bradley, who was responsible for the action, and who watched video of the attack, which left 11 people dead on September 2.

The biggest controversy surrounding the attack, part of so-called Operation Southern Spear, was the occurrence of two bombings on the boat accused of carrying drugs – no evidence was presented to corroborate the allegations. Instead of a single attack, the bombs were dropped twice. In the first action, the objective was to destroy the ship. In the second, kill the two survivors who were at sea.

According to the Washington Post, the order came from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “leave no one alive.” The Pentagon denies any violation of standards of conduct, and Admiral Bradley said he had received no such determination from Hegseth.

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Added to the House investigation, which does not yet have a closing date, is an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Republican Roger Wicker, who was also present at Bradley’s hearing last week. He has given no indication of the direction in which he intends to take the investigation.

For now, Republicans, even amid criticism of Donald Trump’s actions in the Caribbean — which include threats of a ground offensive in Venezuela — appear unwilling to insist on an investigation that has a Trumpist cabinet member as its primary target. Revelations of misconduct and noncompliance with combat rules, especially less than a year before elections to renew Congress’s majority, could be costly in the election.

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That hasn’t stopped government officials from publicly expressing their restrictions on Hegseth: in January, it took a casting vote from Vice President JD Vance to approve his nomination for the post in the Senate, where the government has a majority.

Democrats not only want to maintain the investigations, but also expand their scope.

— Frankly, I haven’t yet seen clear signs that Republicans actually want a rigorous investigation — Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Post. — I have seen no indication that they will use the tools available and necessary to determine all the facts.

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The opposition is also insisting on the release of the video of the attack, which shows the bombing that killed the two castaways, and which has so far only been shown to some parliamentarians and people with high-level security clearances. Last week, after viewing the footage, Democratic Rep. Jim Himes said it was “one of the most disturbing things he’s seen in his public life” and that the castaways were “clearly in distress.”

— The video we saw today shows two shipwrecked people who had no way of moving and who posed even less of an immediate threat, and yet they were killed by the American army, — said the parliamentarian.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mark Warner, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called “scandalous” an alleged move by the Pentagon to delay the release of the video, perhaps until Congress recessed.

— There were other members of the government present at this meeting who understood that Congress had a responsibility to monitor and watch this video — Warner said, referring to Bradley’s hearing last week, which took place behind closed doors. —The only thing I would say is that of the other people present, no one came to Secretary Hegseth’s defense, and even among my Republican colleagues, no one said, “Hey, you know, that makes sense to me.

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The impasse in the investigation into the attacks comes at a time when the administration is trying to push through Congress the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes nearly $900 billion in funding in 2026, including an increase in military pay. According to the White House, this approval “will protect the homeland and strengthen the defense industrial base by eliminating funding for costly and radical programs that undermine the warrior spirit of our nation’s men and women in uniform.”