Washington (AFP) — A United States admiral acting under the authority of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation that targeted survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat, the White House said Monday.

The legality of the Trump administration’s deadly strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific has already been questioned, and reports of the follow-up attack on survivors have triggered further accusations of a possible war crime.

A total of 11 people were killed in the two strikes in early September, the first in a months-long military campaign that has so far left more than 80 dead.

President Donald Trump’s administration insists it is effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists,” and the White House said Admiral Frank Bradley, who currently leads US Special Operations Command, had acted legally and properly in ordering the second strike on the survivors.

Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law directing the commitment to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists.

Hegseth “authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” she said.

With pressure mounting on the Pentagon chief, Hegseth appeared to stress the decision was Bradley’s.

“I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since,” he posted Monday evening on X, calling Bradley “an American hero.”