Ex-National Security Officials Accuse Trump of War Crimes in Caribbean Drone Strikes, Sparking Bipartisan Fury

By Helene Cooper and Jonathan Weisman Washington — Dec. 2, 2025

A bipartisan chorus of more than 1,400 former national security leaders — including retired generals, admirals, diplomats and intelligence chiefs — shattered their post-election silence on Monday with a blistering open letter denouncing President Donald J. Trump’s Caribbean drone strike campaign as “systematic war crimes” that flout international law and erode America’s moral standing. The unprecedented rebuke, spearheaded by the nonpartisan National Security Leaders for America, zeroed in on a series of U.S. operations since September that have killed at least 82 people, including alleged “double-tap” strikes targeting survivors, and prompted an immediate White House damage-control frenzy. As Mr. Trump branded the critics “traitorous deep state hacks” in a midday Truth Social tirade, Capitol Hill erupted in calls for investigations, with even some Republicans breaking ranks to demand accountability, exposing deepening fissures in the administration’s aggressive anti-cartel strategy.

The letter, unveiled at a virtual news conference attended by over 300 signatories, described the strikes — conducted under the Alien Enemies Act to bypass standard rules of engagement — as “extrajudicial executions” that violate the Geneva Conventions’ prohibitions on targeting non-combatants. At the heart of the accusations is a Sept. 2 drone attack on a Venezuelan-flagged vessel suspected of ferrying Tren de Aragua gang members and fentanyl precursors, where U.S. Special Operations forces allegedly fired a second salvo at survivors in the water, killing five more. “These are not lawful counterterrorism actions; they are revenge killings that mock the laws we expect our enemies to follow,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, former CIA director and commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in opening remarks, his voice laced with the gravity of a man who once testified before Congress on wartime ethics. Flanking him were Adm. James Stavridis, ex-NATO supreme allied commander, and Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, who called the operations “a stain on our uniform” that risks reciprocal abuses against U.S. troops abroad.

The signatories, spanning administrations from Reagan to Biden, represent a rare consensus in a field often riven by partisanship. Many, like former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley — whose security clearance Mr. Trump revoked in August — had remained mum since the election, hoping for a “honeymoon” period. But leaked Pentagon memos, first reported by The Washington Post last week, detailing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “kill everybody” directive for the Sept. 2 strike, proved the tipping point. “We swore oaths to the Constitution, not to any president — and this crosses every red line,” Adm. Stavridis added, invoking the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 99 on misbehavior before the enemy. The group, which includes 200 former JAG officers, demanded an independent probe by the inspector general and potential court-martials, warning that without accountability, allies like Canada and the UK could withhold intelligence sharing on joint ops.

Mr. Trump’s eruption came swiftly from Mar-a-Lago, where he was huddled with national security aides amid Thanksgiving leftovers. In a 500-word Truth Social thread viewed over 40 million times, he thundered: “WAR CRIME HOAX by FAILED Generals who BLOWN UP Afghanistan & Iraq! Hegseth is SAVING LIVES from Fentanyl Terrorists — these boats were TICKING BOMBS! Deep State losers like Petraeus & Milley HATE America — they’ll be INVESTIGATED NEXT! We’re WINNING the Drug War — they’re WEEPING!” The posts, illustrated with drone footage of a sinking vessel, drew immediate backlash from veterans’ groups like the V.F.W., which called them “disgraceful” and distanced itself from the administration’s rhetoric. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a defensive briefing, insisted the strikes were “precise and proportionate” against “narco-terrorists,” but evaded questions on the double-tap, citing “operational security.”

Washington’s damage-control mode kicked into high gear, but cracks showed. Aides leaked details of a tense Monday morning call where Mr. Trump berated Mr. Hegseth — the Fox News alum whose confirmation squeaked through 51-49 amid misconduct allegations — for “letting the generals steal our thunder.” Mr. Hegseth, in a midday Fox interview, doubled down: “These critics lost wars; I’m ending the fentanyl flood — 80 dead killers saved thousands of American kids.” Yet behind the bravado, Pentagon sources described “morale freefall,” with 15 JAG officers tendering resignations since the Post exposé and enlistment inquiries down 22 percent amid ethics concerns.

The scandal has galvanized Capitol Hill, transcending party lines in a chamber weary of Mr. Trump’s brinkmanship. Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed, D-R.I., teamed with GOP Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for a bipartisan letter demanding classified briefings on all 15 strikes, which have claimed 82 lives, including at least 12 non-combatants per Venezuelan autopsies. “If double-taps happened, that’s not justice — it’s atrocity, and it demands answers,” Mr. Wicker said on MSNBC, a defection that stunned MAGA hard-liners. House Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., subpoenaed Mr. Hegseth for Dec. 10 testimony, linking the ops to Mr. Trump’s broader use of the Alien Enemies Act for warrantless actions. “This isn’t national security; it’s a national shame,” Mr. Raskin thundered on the floor.

Republicans faced their own internal storm. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a non-interventionist voice, retweeted the JAGs’ statement: “War crimes erode our soul — probe now, before it’s too late.” Polling from a G.O.P. firm, leaked to Politico, showed Mr. Trump’s approval among military families at 48 percent — a 14-point plunge — with independents viewing the strikes as “overkill.” On X, #TrumpWarCrimes exploded with 3.2 million mentions, from viral Post clips to memes of Mr. Hegseth as a cartoon turtle launching missiles, captioned “Shell Game of Slaughter.”

The former officials’ salvo underscores a fracturing in the national security elite, once splintered by Mr. Trump’s purges but now coalescing against what they see as rogue adventurism. Gen. Petraeus, who testified on war crimes during his CIA tenure, framed the letter as a “duty unbound by politics.” “We’ve seen atrocities abroad; we never imagined them at home,” he said. Allies like Vice President J.D. Vance defended on X: “Hegseth crushes cartels; critics cuddle them.” But resignation whispers dog Mr. Hegseth, with sources saying he told aides: “This ends me.”

As the White House floated a “transparency briefing” for Tuesday — including declassified strike videos — the reckoning loomed. Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago meeting with Mr. Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe focused on Venezuela’s Maduro denying gang links, but leaks revealed debates over footage release. Historians like Julian Zelizer of Princeton evoked My Lai: “When ex-insiders speak, it’s not noise — it’s thunder.”

In a capital where scandals brew and burst, the advisors’ silence-shattering cry may ignite more than fury — it could forge a firewall against impunity. For an administration of defiance, the chorus of conscience cuts deepest.