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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, criticized the military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and called a second hit on the wreckage of a boat on Sept. 2 "essentially murder."
What they're saying:
Duckworth made the comments in an interview on CNN on Sunday.
"It was essentially murder with that double-tap strike… It’s all illegal," Duckworth said.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 11: US Sen. Tammy Duckworth attends a Veterans Day ceremony in the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States on November 11, 2025. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, joined other Democrats in slamming the Trump administration’s campaign, which has killed more than 80 people across 20 boat strikes.
"Look, I've been shot down behind enemy lines," Duckworth continued. "Under the laws of war, if a pilot bails out and he's in a rubber dinghy in the middle of the ocean. Under all the international laws of warfare, you are supposed to help render aid to that individual, even if they have a radio and they're calling for their side to come pick them up. You're not allowed to go back in and kill them, even if you know that they're going to conduct future operations against you. That's the Geneva Convention. And so everything that they did here was illegal."
Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth in particular has come under increasing scrutiny for his alleged role in that initial Sept. 2 strike. He cited the "fog of war" in defending the follow-up strike on Sept. 2.
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (C) speaks during a Cabinet meeting alongside (L-R) U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy in the Cabinet …
Duckworth has repeatedly called on Hegseth to resign.
She continued that she’s especially worried about putting U.S. servicemembers in legal jeopardy due to the possibility of the matter being taken up to the International Criminal Court, which decides on alleged international war crimes.
She also pointed to the fact that the U.S. is not in a declared war and that "only Congress can decide that we can go to war."
"If they really cared about drug traffickers, the President wouldn't be pardoning drug traffickers. They would be putting money towards law enforcement," Duckworth said. "So let's go after the drug traffickers, but let's not intentionally violate international law to do it. Two survivors clinging to half of a boat, and then you went in, and you killed them."