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Two men who survived a US airstrike on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean clung to the wreckage for an hour before they were killed in a second attack, according to a video of the episode shown to senators in Washington.

The men were shirtless, unarmed and carried no visible radio or other communications equipment. They also appeared to have no idea what had just hit them, or that the US military was weighing whether to finish them off, two sources familiar with the recording told Reuters.

The pair desperately tried to turn a severed section of the hull upright before they died. “The video follows them for about an hour as they tried to flip the boat back over. They couldn’t do it,” one source said.

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[-] BaroqueInMind@piefed.social 46 points 1 day ago

Everyone in the chain of command in that specific operation needs to be in prison.

[-] LuigiMaoFrance@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 day ago
[-] smeenz@lemmy.nz 7 points 1 day ago

From two missile attacks, an hour apart.

[-] Rooskie91@discuss.online 8 points 1 day ago

Prison is where they should have sent their opponents instead of a second strike. They deserve death.

[-] oyo@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago

Or, you know, before the first strike. If they were convicted of a crime in a court of law

[-] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

They should get a double tap just like they did. Once to feel it, and another to finish the job.

[-] shittydwarf@piefed.social 8 points 1 day ago

After an hour clinging on for dear life in the open ocean

[-] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago

I think that should just be the navy way of doing things. Take all involved, up to cocksucker in chief himself, and just drop them in the middle of the arctic.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 3 points 1 day ago

Why didn't they have PFDs?

[-] jacksilver@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Damn, an hour is a long time to wait. I had been assuming that it was a quick one two, but waiting an hour means they had time to see what happened and still decided to murder these people.

The only thing I can think of is they were afraid they might actually survive and speak out against them.

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 13 points 1 day ago
[-] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago

The people who authorized and committed this war crime deserve the Jesus Christ treatment by the Romans

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 5 points 1 day ago

I'm not generally in favor of the death penalty but I can certainly understand how you arrived at that assessment, both legally and rationally.

[-] Gaja0@lemmy.zip 2 points 17 hours ago

I'm not against death penalty for morality, I'm against it conceptually that the state has the right to strip someone of life. These people were served the death penalty for a crime that never happened. I'm not about to argue against someone praying for karmic justice. It's the golden rule.

[-] rouxdoo@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

An hour...long enough to consult the UCMJ and seek legal counsel before acting.

[-] TangledHyphae@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Were these guys smuggling drugs into the US?

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social 4 points 17 hours ago

They were not even headed to the United States. They were going to Suriname.

[-] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 1 points 13 hours ago

All drugs should be legal and regulated

[-] smeenz@lemmy.nz 14 points 1 day ago

Even if they were, nothing makes it acceptable to just be summarily executed by a foreign military.

[-] Tinidril@midwest.social 10 points 1 day ago

From a legal perspective, there was no trial and therefore no conviction so we must presume innocence.

From a rational perspective, none of these boats are remotely capable of reaching America across open ocean. They would have to refuel multiple times to do so, and still probably couldn't make it. That's just one of many reasons why the accusation is ridiculous.

[-] tonyn@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago

That's the neat part of sending all the evidence to the bottom of the ocean.

[-] Almacca@aussie.zone 4 points 1 day ago

No-one knows. We only have the word of chronic liars.

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social 4 points 17 hours ago

They were not headed to the United States. So the answer is, no.

this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025
114 points (100.0% liked)

United States | News & Politics

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