Hegseth reveals details on Venezuela drug vessel strike approval decision

Minister of War Pete Hegseth He provided new details Saturday about how he personally authorized the Trump administration’s first strike on a suspected drug smuggling ship off Venezuela on Sept. 2, telling Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson that he watched the strike live at the Pentagon after the green light was given.

Earlier in his keynote address, Hegseth declared that President Donald Trump is the true heir to Ronald Reagan’s doctrine of “peace through strength,” accusing the former leaders of both parties of being drawn into endless wars.

After his speech, Hegseth sat down with Tomlinson for a Q&A that revealed new details about the Sept. 2 operation, which he said was the first in a series of more than 20 U.S. strikes targeting gang-linked drug trafficking and terror networks across the Caribbean.

It is also sharp He refused to report it American forces ordered the killing of all individuals on board the boat.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum on December 6, 2025, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Hegseth spoke of creating “peace through strength” and emphasized the need for an army prepared to deter adversaries’ aggression. (Photo by Kylo Sills/Getty Images)

“Is there anyone here from the Washington Post? I don’t know where you get your sources, but they’re bad,” Hegseth said when asked if he had ever issued such an order. “Of course not… Don’t come in and say, ‘Kill them.’ “It’s clearly ridiculous.”

Hegseth also said it took “two weeks, almost a month” to build the intelligence required for the first strike. He said the Pentagon had to redirect assets that had been concentrated “10,000 miles around the other side of the world for a very long time.”

keep Strike power At its level only in the initial operation because of its “strategic implications.”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers the keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Saturday, in Simi Valley, California. (Fox News/Pool)

“The information I received before that strike was intense and comprehensive,” he said. “The military side, and on the civilian side, the lawyers, the intelligence analysts, the red teams… all the details you need to strike a specific terrorist organization.”

Hegseth said the target was part of an organization that President Trump has officially designated as a terrorist group.

“My job was to say do it or don’t do it,” he said.

he He agreed to strike.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers the keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Saturday, in Simi Valley, California. (Fox News/Pool)

According to Hegseth, he watched the mission briefing “for probably five minutes or so” before moving on to other tasks once the strike transitioned into tactical execution.

Hours later, Hegseth said commanders told him a second strike was necessary.

“The attack had to be repeated, because there could have been two people still in the fight,” he added, pointing to access to radio equipment, a possible point of contact with another boat and the drugs remaining on board.

“I fully support this strike,” he said. “I would have made the same call myself.”

He added that repeated attacks are common in combat zones and fall “within a good range.” Admiral Bradley’s powers“, who now oversees strike decisions. Hegseth said he no longer retains the authority to approve subsequent missions.

In response to questions about survivor protocols, Hegseth pointed to a later incident involving a semi-submersible drug ship.

He added: “In this particular case, the first strike did not eliminate the place, and two men jumped and swam.” After the ship was hit again and sank, American forces were able to recover survivors.

“We returned them to their host countries,” he said, adding that the situation “did not change our protocol” but reflected different circumstances.

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Hegseth said the operations had already had a deterrent effect. “We put them in The lower part of the Caribbean Sea…It will make the American people safer.”

Tomlinson pressed Hegseth about President Trump’s public statement that he was not opposed to releasing the unredacted video of the first strike.

“We are reviewing the matter now,” Hegseth said, citing concerns about “sources and methods” and ongoing operations.

Fox News’ Shannon Brehm interviews Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought (left) at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, in Simi Valley, California.

Defense spending is one issue that “persists,” Hegseth said. [him] Up,” he said, adding that he recently attended Oval Office meetings on the FY26 and FY27 budgets.

When asked directly whether defense spending as a share of GDP would rise, he replied, “I think that number is going up,” while declining to get ahead of President Trump.

“We need to revive the defense industrial base,” he said. “We need those capabilities. We needed them yesterday.”

Tomlinson also asked if it was Hegseth I regretted using Signal ahead of combat operations in Yemen, referring to the recently closed Inspector General review.

“I don’t live with any regrets,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly where my compass lies on our forces.” He said morale had risen under Trump.

He said: “Reviving the spirit within our army… the desire to join and re-enlist has reached historic levels.”

He was asked whether he would prefer more equipped forces Tools that support artificial intelligence Or the autonomous systems that replace them, Hegseth said the modern battlefield requires both.

“It has to be both,” he said. “What AI does ten, 100, or 1,000 times faster is critical.”

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Tomlinson ended with the classic Reagan Forum question: Who does Hegseth want to win? Army and Navy game.

“Well, I’m with the Navy,” he said, before adding that the Marine Corps had “stood strong” through the political “bullshit” of recent years.