Pete Hegseth, secretary of the U.S. Department of War ‒ formally known as the U.S. Department of Defense ‒ addresses a defense summit in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Nov. 12, 2025.
On Nov. 15, 2025, the U.S. military conducted the 21st known strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat, killing three men. The latest attack brings the total number of people killed by U.S. strikes on the alleged drug boats to 83.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is getting heat for defending America from suspected narco-terrorists and allegedly committing war crimes while doing so.

I don't advocate breaking our laws or committing war crimes, but I voted for an administration that would utilize our military and law enforcement to take drug cartels, terrorism and illegal immigration seriously – and would defend our nation's borders with the resources afforded to them. So did millions of other Americans.

Hegseth's orders to target drug cartels in international waters have led to news reports suggesting that he has gone too far. If war crimes have been committed, the chief of the Department of Defense should be held accountable. I'm glad to see that some Republicans have called for this, too, though the White House has defended Hegseth.

In the meantime, I'd like to know just what drives the Democratic Party to actually protect alleged narco-terrorists, or suspected drug traffickers? It also raises questions about whether the left is worried about law and order now that a Republican is at the helm.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking heat for targeted strikes to protect America

Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, the chair and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, have said that they would be looking into the Sept. 2 incident, which consisted of two U.S. strikes targeted toward alleged narcotics vessels in international waters.

The committee would "be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances,” the lawmakers said in a statement Nov. 28.

The lawmakers' push for scrutiny was in response to a report by The Washington Post that Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” on board the alleged drug boat. The Post claims that two "suspected drug traffickers" survived an initial missile strike, and that a second strike was ordered to complete Hegseth's command.

Hegseth posted on social media, "Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization."

If Hegseth – or anyone else – has committed a war crime, there is a process to prosecute this, and it should be followed. I support an investigation. Our military must operate within the bounds of international laws, but I trust Hegseth to issue lawful commands.

Some lawmakers believe these attacks are illegal because they have not been authorized by Congress. On Nov. 5, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Defense secretary briefed top congressional members behind closed doors about the strikes and disputed suggestions that there was a lack of transparency.

"The administration has kept me and other members fully advised, fully satisfied with what they're doing," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said then.

The incident has inspired reporting raising several questions: whether the alleged criminals are in fact drug traffickers, whether they pose an imminent threat, and if both are true, whether orders for multiple, legal attacks are lawful.

This kind of scrutiny was lacking during the Biden administration, which was an epic charade of dishonesty and gaslighting. Even Barack Obama engaged in all kinds of questionable drone strikes.

Meanwhile, if President Donald Trump is merely mentioned in an email about Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious, convicted sex offender, Trump is smeared as if he, too, were practically Epstein.

Narco-terrorists are the left's new cause célèbre

They did the same thing back in April when they championed Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and alleged violent gang member. His case is still logjammed in our court system. But how he became the left's cause célèbre, I have no idea.

The left's empathy toward alleged narco-terrorists is strange to me, too. It detracts from the real issue, which is Trump's commitment to securing our borders, an issue that was exacerbated during the previous administration. During the Biden administration, illegal migrants flooded the United States at record highs.

In Texas, where I live, Gov. Greg Abbott went to extraordinary lengths to curtail the crime and fentanyl spike that happened under then-President Joe Biden's watch. In July 2024, the governor reported that Texas law enforcement had seized more than 488 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

Republicans support Trump's tough stance on criminals. A November Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 3 in 4 Republicans support designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and that 65% of Republicans say the benefits of taking action against drug cartels in foreign countries outweigh the risks.

I've never seen the left come to the defense of the people harmed by illegal immigration or drug pushers from outside the United States, such as Laken Riley, Rachel Morin or 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. Why not?

I don't support a U.S. member of the military committing war crimes, and if there needs to be an investigation, so be it. But I support the United States defending itself vigorously, as most Republicans do. And I can't support the Democrats' push to go too far and make criminals and illegal migrants their heroes, either.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Hegseth being attacked for defending Americans? | Opinion

Reporting by Nicole Russell, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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