Members of the military sit for a meeting convened by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Quantico, Virginia, U.S., September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump's administration is now being accused of committing a war crime after new details emerged about an operation in the Caribbean Sea.
The New York Times reported Monday that the Department of Defense (DOD) is now being accused of disguising a military aircraft as a civilian plane while carrying out one of its controversial attacks on alleged drug boats. The strike killed 11 people last September, and reportedly hid munitions in its fuselage rather than visibly under its wings. This was also the same attack in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly authorized a second strike to kill two survivors who were seen clinging to wreckage of the vessel.
However, the details of the attack — which have not been reported until now — set off alarms with various legal experts. The Times reported that the act of disguising a military plane to remove any military markings is a war crime called "perfidy."
Maj. Gen. Steven J. Lepper (Ret.), who worked in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps, told the Times that if the DOD conducted a strike with an aircraft disguised as a civilian plane, it would be considered a war crime under current armed conflict standards.
"Shielding your identity is an element of perfidy," Lepper said. "If the aircraft flying above is not identifiable as a combatant aircraft, it should not be engaged in combatant activity."
According to the Times, the boat in question saw the plane as it was flying over, prompting it to turn around and head back in the direction of Venezuela prior to the strike. After the first strike, two people were seen floating next to the debris of the boat for approximately 40 minutes before a second attack blew them apart in the water.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson maintained to the Times that the strike was carried out in accordance with all applicable domestic and international law, though Wilson did not directly address the allegations of perfidy.
“The U.S. military utilizes a wide array of standard and nonstandard aircraft depending on mission requirements,” Wilson said. “Prior to the fielding and employment of each aircraft, they go through a rigorous procurement process to ensure compliance with domestic law, department policies and regulations, and applicable international standards, including the law of armed conflict.”
Click here to read the Times' report in full.