Congress should demand a Full Investigation Into Hegseth’s Extrajudicial Killings
Congress should demand a Full Investigation Into Hegseth’s Extrajudicial Killings
Date: December 9, 2025
What Happened:
Science September 2025, Over the last few months, the Trump regime has orchestrated at least 21 bombings of small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that it claims are trafficking drugs bound for the US. They’ve provided no legal justification for these bombings, which have now killed at least 83 people in total.
From Britannica:
“Former State Department legal adviser John Bellinger told Time magazine that the logic underpinning the strikes as “dangerous,” arguing that the targeted groups were “not engaged in an armed conflict with the United States and their members are not combatants.” Meanwhile, law professor Rebecca Ingber also told Time that the normalization of maritime lethal strikes “[erodes] the rule that is the backbone of the modern international law system that states may not use force except in the most narrow exceptional circumstances.”
Amnesty International has called these killings murder.
In at least one of these strikes, Hegseth ordered troops to leave no survivors. Compliance with this order required a special operations commander to launch a second strike on two civilians who survived the initial attack. This command, known as a “no quarter order,” likely constitutes a war crime.
However, the civilians on those boats were not engaged in any armed conflict with the United States. They posed no imminent threat. As former military lawyer Todd Huntley put it, because there is no legitimate war between the U.S. and these alleged traffickers, killing them literally amounts to murder.
The Trump administration has presented no evidence that the boats were indeed carrying drugs destined for the United States.
If Congress does not put a check on this regime’s lawless violence, there’s no telling where this will end. Hegseth could label anyone a legitimate target and order the military to carry out strikes without legal justification or even evidence of wrongdoing.
Every Senator, especially those on the Senate Armed Services committee, must demand an immediate, public investigation into these killings and the orders behind them.
Call to Action:
Ask Senators Klobuchar and Smith and your congressional representative to demand a full investigation into the extrajudicial killings (aka illegal killings) ordered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Contact Information:
U.S. Senator Tina Smith:
DC Office Phone: (202) 224-5641
MN Office Phone: (651) 221-1016
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar:
DC Office Phone: (202) 224-3244
DC Office Fax: (202) 228-2186
MN Office Phone: (612) 727-5220
U.S House Rep Ilhan Omar: (CD5)
DC Office: (202) 225-4755
MN Office: (612) 333-1272
U.S House Rep Betty McCollum: (CD4)
DC Office: (202) 225-6631
MN Office: (651) 224-9191
U.S House Rep Kelly Morrison: (CD3)
(202) 225-2871 (DC Office)
For Other Reps or for MN State Actions:
Find your rep here:
https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
OR
Use Democracy.io to send an email to all relevant legislators at the same time.
Sample Script:
Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. Optional: I am a member of Indivisible Twin Cities.
Include a sentence or two about why the actions in the Caribbean and Pacific trouble you.
I urge Representative [Name] to demand an immediate, public investigation into the extrajudicial killings ordered by Secretary Pete Hegseth. He issued what amounts to a “no quarter” order, telling agents to “kill them all” and authorizing a strike on a small boat with no warning, no legal basis, and no evidence of a threat. This is illegal under U.S. and international law. Congress cannot ignore this.
Resources
Number of bombings and killings to date and US legal scholars responses– https://www.britannica.com/event/2025-US-Strikes-on-Venezuelan-Vessels
Amnesty International:
Lack of evidence