Hegseth reveals details on Venezuela drug vessel strike approval decision

military secretary Pete Hegseth On Saturday, he provided new details about how he personally authorized the Trump administration's first strike on a suspected drug smuggling vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Sept. 2, telling Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson that he watched the strike live from the Pentagon after giving the green light.

Earlier in his keynote speech, Hegseth said President Donald Trump is the true heir to Ronald Reagan's “peace through strength” doctrine, accusing former bipartisan leaders of sliding into endless wars.

Following his speech, Hegseth met with Tomlinson for a Q&A, during which new details were revealed about the Sept. 2 operation, which he said was the first in a series of more than 20 U.S. strikes against cartel-linked narco-terrorism networks throughout the Caribbean.

He also sharply refused to say that he ordered American troops to kill all the people on the boat.

AS Trump's standoff with Maduro deepens, experts warn the next step could lead to a debacle

“Is anyone here from the Washington Post? I don’t know where you get your sources, but they suck,” Hegseth said when asked if he ever gave such an order. “Of course not… you won't come and say, 'Kill them.' It's just obviously funny.”

Hegseth also said it took “a couple of weeks, almost a month” to gather the intelligence needed for the first strike. He said the Pentagon had to refocus forces that had been concentrated “10,000 miles around the other side of the world” for a very long time.

He held strike organ at his level only for the initial operation due to its “strategic importance”.

Capitol Hill insurrection threatens Trump's Venezuela agenda as Caribbean strike monitors

“The briefing I received before the strike was extensive and comprehensive,” he said. “The military side, the civilian side, the lawyers, the intelligence analysts, the red teams… all the details needed 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 not do it,” he said.

He approved the strike.

HEGSETH TO HIGHLIGHT RESTORATION OF 'ARSENAL OF FREEDOM' IN SPEECH AT REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORUM

Hegseth said he watched the mission feed for “probably five minutes or so” before moving on to other tasks once the strike went into tactical execution.

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

“It was necessary to repeat the attack because a couple of people could still be involved in the fight,” he said, citing radio access, a possible communication point with another vessel and drugs remaining on board.

“I fully support this strike,” he said. “I would do the same thing myself.”

He added that repeat attacks are common in war zones and are “within normal limits.” Admiral Bradley's powers“, which now oversees decisions on strikes. Hegseth said he no longer retains authority to approve subsequent missions.

In response to questions about survivor records, Hegseth pointed to a more recent incident involving a semi-submersible drug boat.

“In this particular case, the first blow didn't take it out and a couple of the guys jumped off and swam,” he said. After the ship was hit again and sank, American forces recovered the survivors.

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

House Republicans back Trump's Venezuela idea as it moves forward as uncertainty looms

Hegseth says the operations have already had a deterrent effect. “We'll put them in bottom of the Caribbean Sea… it will make the American people safer.”

Tomlinson pressed Hegseth over President Trump's public statement that he was OK with releasing unedited video of the first strike.

“We're looking at it right now,” Hegseth said, expressing concerns about “sources, methods” and ongoing operations.

Hegseth said defense spending is one of the issues that “keeps [him] up,” adding that he recently attended an Oval Office meeting regarding the FY26 and FY27 budgets.

Asked directly whether defense spending would rise as a percentage of GDP, he said, “I think that number is going up,” but declined to go ahead of President Trump.

“We need a revitalized defense industrial base,” he said. “We need these opportunities. We need them yesterday.”

Tomlinson also asked if Hegseth is I regretted using Signal beforehand combat operations in Yemen, citing a recently closed inspector general review.

“I don’t live with any regrets,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly where my compass is in our troops.” He argued that morale has increased under Trump.

“The renewed spirit within our military … the desire to enlist and re-enlist is at historic levels,” he said.

When asked if he prefers troops equipped with more AI-enabled tools or autonomous systems replacing them, Hegseth said the modern battlefield requires both.

“It has to be both,” he said. “What AI does to increase the speed of perception ten, 100, 1000 times… is critical.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Tomlinson ended with a traditional Reagan forum question: Who does Hegseth want to win in the election? Army-Navy Game.

“Well, I’m pro-Navy,” he said, before adding that the Marine Corps has “persisted” through the political “nonsense” of recent years.