President Donald Trump attends an event to announce a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to reduce the prices of GLP-1 weight loss drugs in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 6. 2025. (REUTERS Jonathan Ernst)
The alleged drug boat at the center of a developing controversy was not on a course toward the United States, according to a new report.
CNN reported Friday that during his recent closed-door session with lawmakers about the September 2 boat strike, Admiral Frank M. Bradley — who was the commander overseeing the mission – said the boat in question was actually headed toward Suriname, on the northern coast of South America.
Two of CNN's unnamed sources who have "direct knowledge" of the admiral's comments said Bradley testified that the boat was on a path to another vessel, where it was expected to transfer drugs on board toward its final destination. The network cited drug enforcement experts, who said that trafficking routes via Suriname are typically bound for Europe, whereas drug shipments to the U.S. are typically concentrated in the Pacific Ocean.
Admiral Bradley's testimony counters President Donald Trump's official justification for the ongoing boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea, in which 86 people have been killed in 22 total strikes this year. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have maintained that the strikes are necessary to prevent the flow of drugs into the U.S.
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States," Trump wrote on Truth Social of the September 2 strike.
The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth ordered the officers overseeing the September 2 strike to "kill everybody" after two survivors were seen clinging to wreckage of the vessel in the wake of the initial strike, which capsized the boat. Bradley testified, however, that Hegseth never gave such an order.
Rules 46 and 47 of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) prohibit "no-quarter" orders and the killing of anyone deemed hors de combat, ("out of the fight") respectively. If the initial reports are true, the Trump administration's actions would be considered illegal under both U.S. and international law.
Click here to read CNN's report in its entirety.
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