PENTAGON REFUSES TO RELEASE VENEZUELA BOAT STRIKE VIDEO 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday the Pentagon will not publicly release full footage of a controversial September 2 strike that killed two survivors clinging to a capsized drug vessel off Venezuela’s coast, defying bipartisan calls for transparency amid accusations the attack may constitute a war crime.

The second strike occurred approximately 30 minutes after an initial attack killed nine people, targeting two shirtless individuals who appeared to be attempting to right the boat, which some lawmakers and legal experts say violates international humanitarian law prohibiting attacks on shipwrecked persons no longer engaged in combat.

Hegseth defended the decision as following “long-standing” Pentagon policy on top-secret footage and said Congressional Armed Services Committees will view the complete video Wednesday with Admiral Frank Bradley, who ordered the strike, as part of a broader military campaign that has killed at least 95 people across 25 strikes since September.