TWZ was the first to report that the 158th’s F-35As were being deployed to Southern Spear. You can catch up with our previous story about this operation here.
The jets were captured on video and in still images by airplane spotters. We reached out to the Vermont National Guard for comment.
F-35A Lightning lls with the “Green Mountain Boys” of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 134th Fighter Squadron, 158th Fighter Wing, seen on the tarmac at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Eastern Puerto Rico, after arriving earlier today from the Mainland United States.
F-35A operating in the Caribbean — the first USAF tactical jets to do so as part of this operation — offer the ability to drop 2,000lb-class guided bombs from their internal bays on targets deep inside Venezuelan airspace. The Marine Corps F-35Bs previously deployed to Puerto Rico are limited to carrying 1,000lb-class weapons internally. They also have significantly less range and reduced agility. Their presence in the region is part of the increasing evidence that the U.S. is preparing for strikes.
The arrival of the jets comes as the Trump administration continues to increase military and economic pressure on Maduro. Saturday, U.S. personnel boarded another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.
The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund… pic.twitter.com/nSZ4mi6axc
That action follows a blockade on sanctioned tankers ordered by President Donald Trump and marks at least the second such seizure. The U.S. had already seized one sanctioned oil tanker, the M/T Skipper. That mission, which occurred on December 10, was led by the U.S. Coast Guard with elements of the U.S. military providing support.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
It remains unclear what, if any action, Trump will ultimately take against Venezuela. The arrival of the F-35As from Vermont gives him another range of capabilities to employ.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The Pentagon is continuing to pour assets into the Caribbean to beef up the Trump administration’s military pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and enhanced drug interdiction operations. As additional aerial refueling tankers arrive in the region, the White House is also reportedly preparing to seize more sanctioned oil tankers to further impact Maduro’s income.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to again explain to lawmakers the details of a Sept. 2 attack on a suspected drug boat that also killed the survivors of an initial strike on the vessel. Three more boats were destroyed yesterday in the Operation Southern Spear campaign that began as a counter-narcotics mission but has morphed into one aimed at Maduro.
On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/IQfCVvUpau
New imagery emerged on social media Monday showing that at least four more U..S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers have joined six aerial refuelers that recently arrived at Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas in the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, KC-46 Pegasus tankers have been flying sorties out of the U.S. Virgin Islands for months, with a major ramp-up in activity in recent weeks. As we previously noted, forward deploying the tankers reduces the amount of time needed to fly to the region and thus increases time on station and sortie rates.
In addition, an online airplane tracker using the @LatAmMovements X handle said more C-17 Globemaster III heavy cargo jets have arrived in Ecuador with supplies from Erbil, Iraq. The flight was the latest of several from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region bolstering Southern Spear. CENTCOM declined to comment on that effort.
RCH937 out of MacDill AFB (KMCF) 🇺🇸 en route to Manta (MEC/SEMT) 🇪🇨.
This is the fourth Southern Spear-related cargo flight to Ecuador. This flight is carrying cargo from Erbil, Iraq.
The open-source tracker also found that at least nine C-17s have arrived in Puerto Rico from the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, likely carrying supplies and troops ahead of the looming deployment of an unspecified number of F-35A stealth fighters, which we were the first to report. The Vermont National Guard (VNG) declined to offer any details. Low resolution satellite imagery we obtained shows C-17s in Puerto Rico.
RCH234 out of Burlington ANGB (KBTV) 🇺🇸 en route to Roosevelt Roads (RVR/TJRV) 🇵🇷.
This is the ninth cargo flight in support of the 158th FW’s upcoming deployment to PR.
As for the Navy, an official told us Tuesday morning that no new ships have joined the 11 already there, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is one of 11 Navy warships currently deployed to the Caribbean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Alyssa Joy)
Beyond equipment, U.S. Southern Command continues to expand its footprint in the region. On Monday, Trinidad and Tobago agreed to allow the U.S. military to use its airports for Southern Spear. That follows an earlier deployment by the U.S. Marine Corps of an AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR), a modern road-mobile multi-purpose AESA radar that can be used for air defense and more general air traffic control purposes.
Amid all these aircraft movements, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a new Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) warning them to “exercize caution” in and around Venezuelan airspace.
“OPERATORS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING IN THE MAIQUETIA FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION (SVZM FIR) AT ALL ALTITUDES DUE TO THE WORSENING SECURITY SITUATION AND HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN OR AROUND VENEZUELA,” according to the NOTAM. “THREATS COULD POSE A POTENTIAL RISK TO AIRCRAFT AT ALL ALTITUDES, INCLUDING DURING OVERFLIGHT, THE ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PHASES OF FLIGHT, AND/OR AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND.”
ATC audio of US Military aircraft operating DUE REGARD over the Caribbean Sea, this JetBlue pilot sounds pissed but what are they going to do about? 😎 https://t.co/Eq5yCmeEHy
On the economic front, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to take control of more oil tanker ships in the wake of the seizure of the M/T/ Skipper last week. The goal is to deprive Maduro of revenues gained from oil sales.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
There are upwards of 18 sanctioned oil-laden ships in Venezuela’s waters now, Axios reported. “Eight are classified as ‘Very Large Cargo Container ships’ like Skipper, which can carry nearly 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, according to Samir Madani, co-founder of the firm Tanker Trackers that monitors global shipping.”
So far, Trump has opted against moving into Venezuelan waters to seize any of these vessels, but that could soon change, Axios noted.
“We have to wait for them to move. They’re sitting at the dock. Once they move, we’ll go to court, get a warrant and then get them,” a Trump adviser told Axios. “But if they make us wait too long, we might get a warrant to get them” in Venezuelan waters.
While the Trump administration continues to insist that Southern Spear is directed at stemming the flow of drugs into the U.S., The New York Times on Tuesday suggested Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and competition from China are the real motivating factors.
“Venezuela and its oil lie at the nexus of two of Mr. Trump’s stated national security priorities: dominance of energy resources and control of the Western Hemisphere,” the newspaper noted. “Venezuela has about 17 percent of the world’s known oil reserves, or more than 300 billion barrels, nearly four times the amount in the United States. And no nation has a bigger foothold in Venezuela’s oil industry than China, the superpower whose immense trade presence in the Western Hemisphere the Trump administration aims to curb.”
Today I had the chance to read #China’s Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, released just a few days ago.
It is the first update to this document in 9 years and it came immediately after the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine was released. I think the timing… pic.twitter.com/2fA0Atlw00
Against this backdrop, Hegseth and Rubio provided closed-door briefings to the Senate (SASC) and House Armed Services Committees (HASC) about the Sept. 2 boat strike. It was the first of nearly two dozen such attacks that have so far killed almost 90 people. These attacks – and especially the follow-up one on Sept. 2 that killed survivors – have been strongly condemned by various parties.
Hegseth promised to provide the committees with full versions of the video feed from that attack. Only snippets have been publicly released so far.
The full video of that attack will remain classified and won’t be shown to the public, Hegseth proclaimed. He also justified the boat attack campaign.
Southern Spear has been “a highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations, cartels, bringing weapons – meaning drugs – to the American people and poison the American people for far too long,” Hegseth told reporters gathered at the Capitol. “So we’re proud of what we’re doing…”
Senators received a classified briefing from Secretary Marco Rubio and Secretary Pete Hegseth on the ongoing operations in the Caribbean today, but left without seeing the highly requested unedited video of the Sept. 2 boat strikes, senators said. https://t.co/ezRFeAMfn4pic.twitter.com/ga3uHgaP8M
In a somewhat surprising exchange, Wiles, the president’s chief of staff, suggested getting rid of Maduro may be the real reason Trump is expending so many resources and so much political capital in the Caribbean.
“Over lunch, Wiles told me about Trump’s Venezuela strategy,” Vanity Fair reporter Chris Whipple wrote Tuesday in the second part of an exclusive interview with one of Trump’s closest advisors. Wiles told the magazine that “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.” The story continued, stating “Wiles’s statement appears to contradict the administration’s official stance that blowing up boats is about drug interdiction, not regime change.”
“Over lunch, Wiles told me about Trump’s Venezuela strategy: “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.” (Wiles’s statement appears to contradict the administration’s official stance that blowing up…
Trump’s true motivations and how he will act on them remain unknown. On Friday, he repeated his refrain that he may soon order strikes against drug traffickers on land in addition to those at sea. Meanwhile, some 15,000 U.S. troops who have surged to the region continue to wait for orders.
Update: 7:49 PM Eastern –
In a post on Truth Social, Trump offered the clearest indication of his motives and terms for the Caribbean build-up and how Venezuela’s oil reserves play a role.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” Trump wrote. “The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
Trump also ordered “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela, however, he did not provide details of how that will work. We reached out to the White House for more information.
Saying the unedited video of a September 2 strike on a boat in the Caribbean is “top secret,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that its viewing will be restricted to select lawmakers, not the general public.
The United States has fully commited to its enforcement of sanctions on Venezuela by seizing a large oil tanker off its coast. President Donald Trump publicly announced the operation on December 10th and authorities said a joint FBI/Homeland Security/Coast Guard team executed a court-ordered seizure of the vessel, which was transporting Iranian and Venezuelan crude in violation of U.S imposed sanctions.
This is reportedly the first U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil shipment since sanctions began way back in 2019. “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” says Donald Trump.
Trying to maintain the credibility of U.S. sanctions at a time when their enforcement have increasingly been challenged by other international actors such as Russia or Iran. Now, The U.S. is willing to take direct action beyond economic wars, even at the risk of diplomatic and military escalation.
Reactions from Caracas
Venezuela publicly denounced the action and accused Washington of blatant theft describing the seizure as “an act of international piracy”. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has long cast himself as the victim of a U.S. led campaign to oust him from the country in order to seize the vast oil wealth on the country’s shores. He reiterated that the U.S. military buildup, which started this summer, including carrier strike groups and bases is directly aimed at overthrowing him.
Maduro’s supporters rallied in the streets against foreign aggression even as officials prepared diplomatic protests to international bodies. For the time being, he faces limited other practical options for retaliation as Venezuela’s navy is in no position to challenge U.S. maritime dominance, and legal recourse through international courts would likely take years.
Russia’s Offers Full Support
Moscow reaffirmed its backing for Maduro, emphasising the legitimacy of Venezuela’s government and condemning what it described as unilateral U.S. actions. An ally in South America provides Russia opportunities for energy investment, and a way to challenge U.S. influence.
The tanker seizure allows Moscow to frame Washington as overreaching and destabilising, a narrative it also applies to recent U.S. actions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. While Russia is unlikely to escalate militarily, its political backing is significant.
China’s Strategic Role, A Potential Mediator?
Avoiding direct confrontation with Washington over the seizure, Beijing has reiterated its general opposition to unilateral sanctions and calling for international dialogue. However, China remains Venezuela’s most important economic partner and oil consumer, giving it substantial influence over any talks in the region.
Chinese companies have adapted to sanctions by purchasing Venezuelan crude oil at discounted prices, often through intermediaries. For Beijing, Venezuela is also part of a broader strategy to diversify energy supplies and expand its economic reach to the Americas.
Impact on Oil Markets
The announcement caused a modest spike in oil prices around the globe; for example: Brent crude briefly rose about 0.4% to around $62 a barrel, before returning to normal levels in the following few days.
The incident also highlighted Venezuela’s export challenges: under sanctions, its oil trades at a deep discount for its main trade partners, China and Russia. American oil companies with Venezuelan ties reported no immediate trouble. Chevron the U.S. firm that co-owns Venezuela’s largest oil project said its operations there continue normally, and U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude have even ticked up slightly in recent months.
Broader Consequences
Neighbouring countries such as Cuba and other Caribbean states depend on Venezuelan oil and could feel its effects. Sanctioning Venezuela was intended to pressure the regime into political concessions, yet Maduro remains firmly in power.
Enforcement actions like this tanker seizure may increase short-term pressure, but they also come with great risk for the stability of the Caribbean. Venezuela’s experience mirrors that of Iran and Russia, suggesting that sanctions alone may be insufficient to produce regime change, particularly when the targeted government is provided external backing.
Possible Future Scenarios and Implications
One scenario is a continuation of this low-level rise in tensions, with the U.S. stepping up enforcement and Venezuela responding through diplomatic protests while relying on Russian support.
Another is a negotiated de-escalation, potentially linked to limited sanctions relief in exchange for political concessions, though past efforts suggest this would be difficult to achieve with the current White House administration.
A more destabilising scenario would involve a potential confrontation at sea and broader disruption to energy markets. However, this scenario remains unlikely for the time being.
The official could not say how many, when they will arrive or where they will go, but suggested they will most likely fly to the former Roosevelt Roads U.S. Navy base in Puerto Rico which has served as a staging ground for aviation assets and troops gathered in the region.
An F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jana Somero)
As we previously reported, F-35s from the U.S. Marine Corps began arriving at Roosevelt Road in the middle of September. E/A-18G Growler electronic attack jets just arrived there yesterday as well, which is possibly the most glaring sign that the U.S. is preparing for airstrikes as any over the last few months. You can read more about that deployment and its significance here.
F-35 fighters have arrived at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, now operating as the primary staging base for the aircraft and their support teams.
On Wednesday, Vermont media outlets reported that wing assets were being prepared for a deployment but didn’t say where.
“Lt. Col. Meghan Smith confirmed to Vermont Public on Wednesday that the 158th Fighter Wing ‘has received a federal mobilization order,” the Vermont Public news outlet reported. “While we can’t discuss specific timelines or locations, our Airmen train continuously to ensure they are fully prepared to support federal and state missions whenever and wherever they are needed,” Smith said in an email.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott told Vermont Public on Wednesday that he did not know where the jets are going.
“Scott said during his weekly media briefing Wednesday that the Pentagon issued the mobilization orders under Title 10, the federal statute that allows the president to place National Guard troops under federal command,” according to the news outlet. “There isn’t much I can share because I don’t know a lot about any of the mission,” Scott said. “Everything from my understanding is coming out of either the National Guard or the Pentagon at this point.”
F-35A deployed to the Caribbean — the first USAF tactical jets to do so — would offer the ability to drop 2,000lb-class guided bombs on targets deep inside Venezuelan airspace. The F-35Bs currently deployed to Puerto Rico are limited to 1,000lb-class weapons. They also have significantly less range and reduced agility. No F-35s are deployed aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, it only carries Super Hornets and the USS Iwo Jima is currently carrying a small contingent of AV-8B+ Harriers.
Taking all this into account, the F-35A deployment is a major signal of what type of operations could be on the horizon.
This is a developing story.
Update: 8:29 PM Eastern –
In addition to the F-35As, more aviation assets are being deployed for Operation Southern Spear, including combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft and refueling tankers. You can read about that in our story here.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The Pentagon is continuing to rapidly add military capabilities to Operation Southern Spear, a mission that began as a counter-narcotics effort but is increasingly aimed at Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Images emerged online today of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) aircraft having arrived in Puerto Rico. In addition, KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelers are now flying missions out of the Dominican Republic. We also found that KC-46 Pegasus tankers have been flying sorties out of the U.S. Virgin Islands for months, with a major ramp-up in activity in recent weeks. This is all on top of yesterday’s arrival of EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets in Puerto Rico and the news we broke today that USAF F-35As are being sent to the Caribbean, as well.
Clearly, the Pentagon is moving into a posture in the region that is much better equipped for tactical air combat operations over hostile territory than it was just days ago.
Despite all this movement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday afternoon that U.S. President Donald Trump does not want to see a protracted conflict in Venezuela.
“A prolonged war is something the president is not interested in,” she said, adding that Trump wants to “see the end of illegal drugs trafficked into the United States.”
On Thursday, Reuters published photos showing HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue (CSAR) planes and HH-60W Jolly Green Giant II CSAR helicopters on the ramp at Roosevelt Roads, the former U.S. Navy facility in Puerto Rico. These aircraft are stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, though the helicopters reportedly arrived from deployment to Kadena Air Base in Japan.
A Reuters image from today (11 Dec) shows 3x USAF HC-130Js from Moody AFB on the ramp at Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico.
The deployment of dedicated CSAR aircraft to the region is a sign that the Trump administration could be about to drastically increase its pressure on Maduro and go after the cartels inland with strikes. The aircraft are needed for rapid rescues of any aircrews that are lost during military operations, specifically over contested territory. While the Marine aviation force from USS Iwo Jima and its escorts are also capable of this mission, as are helicopters from the USS Gerald R. Ford, to varying degrees, the unique capabilities and the highly specialized crews the HC-130J and HH-60W bring to the table are prized. This is especially true now that USAF tactical airpower in the form of F-35As is about to arrive in-theater.
A U.S. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Andrew Garavito) Senior Airman Andrew Garavito
The Stratotankers arrived in the Dominican Republic sometime around Sunday or Monday, according to the @LatAmMilMovements X account, an open-source tracker who has been closely following these deployments. They are now taking up a good portion of an entire runway at the airport.
A Sentinel-2 pass from today (10 Dec) shows a total of six USAF KC-135s at Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas (SDQ/MDSD) in the Dominican Republic.
From here, the tankers will continue to support E-3G and RC-135 missions in the Caribbean.
Forward deploying the tankers reduces the amount of time needed to fly to the region and thus increases time on station and sortie rates. The presence of these jets in the Dominican Republic also represents a widening of the mission’s footprint, a U.S. official told us. The bulk of U.S. land-based operations are run out of Puerto Rico, and Roosevelt Roads in particular.
Noted parked up at Santo Domingo Airport ( SDQ ) in the Dominican Republic today, 6 Boeing KC135 refueling aircraft of the United States Air Force pic.twitter.com/U4bnLhhFIQ
“This is an expansion of Southern Spear,” the U.S. official said of the Stratotanker presence in the Dominican Republic. “This is about capabilities and location. In case of any service support needed, you want to have that in a strategic area. The Dominican Republic is not too close, not too far and they have the capabilities to support a number of aircraft.”
The Dominican Republic is strategically located in the northern Caribbean. (Google Earth)
The Dominican Republic presence, however, was not the first tankers operating forward in the region. They have been operating out of the U.S. Virgin Islands for months.
A U.S. Air Force airfield manager assigned to the 6th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron marshals a KC-46A Pegasus on the flight line in Frederiksted, St. Croix, Oct. 29, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo) Senior Airman Katelynn Jackson
The KC-46s have been in the U.S. Virgin Islands since the middle of September, according to archived satellite imagery. This presence has grown steadily with now between five and six tankers being seen on the ramp there at any given time. The low-resolution satellite photo below was taken Dec. 9 and obtained by The War Zone via Planet Labs.
Michael Virgil, 35, died on board the Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cruise liner after being restrained following a violent outburst – his family are now suing the firm
Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas News Reporter
14:23, 09 Dec 2025Updated 17:34, 09 Dec 2025
The family of Michael Virgil, 35, are suing Royal Caribbean cruises(Image: FOX 11 Los Angeles)
A dad who died on a cruise after attacking fellow passengers was served 33 alcoholic drinks in a single day, his family claim.
Michael Virgil, 35, died on board Royal Caribbean‘s Navigator of the Seas cruise liner last year, after crew allegedly restrained him with sedatives and pepper spray when he became aggressive and violent. His family, who are now suing the cruise line, claim bar staff repeatedly served him drinks despite obvious signs of intoxication.
Mr Virgil, from Moreno Valley, California, was with his fiancée, Connie Aguilar, and their seven-year-old son when he launched into the foul-mouthed tirade just hours after boarding the cruise.
Some passengers reported hearing him use racial epithets during the outburst, and when he began threatening other passengers and attacking crew members, security put him into custody using a combination of cable ties, handcuffs, and pepper spray.
The dad launched into an angry outburst after allegedly being served 33 drinks at the bar(Image: FOX 11 Los Angeles)
Photographs show multiple members of staff appearing to pin him to the ground in a corridor. Mr Virgil was pronounced dead around an hour after being detained, and found to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
His family members claim he was given a sedative injection while in custody – and are blaming the cruise line for continuing to serve him alcohol despite him showing clear signs of inebriation.
US attorney Kevin Haynes told FOX 11’s Phil Shuman: “They have a legal duty not to do so. And if you’re serving someone 25, 30-plus drinks, in no world could you not see that the person is intoxicated.
“Once they created that situation, he acted out. He did not act as a normal person would. Clearly he was intoxicated. He is not a big drinker. He was known by his family as a gentle giant.”
He died shortly after being restrained by security, and his family claim he was given a sedative(Image: FOX 11 Los Angeles)
Mr Haynes claims staff “physically restrained him with five people physically on top of him” resulting in a “mechanical asphyxiation”, similar to the fate suffered by George Floyd when policeman Derek Chauvin held his knee on his neck in 2020.
“It’s the same kind of concept that George Floyd suffered, except in this case, it persisted for three minutes, and there were other factors at play that causes death,” the attorney said.
Royal Caribbean said in a statement to US media: “We were saddened by the passing of one of our guests, worked with authorities on their investigation, and will refrain from commenting any further on pending litigation.”
Lawmakers in the United States have urged the release of a video of a controversial double-tap strike on a vessel in the Caribbean amid growing scrutiny of the legality of Washington’s militarised anti-drug trafficking campaign.
The bipartisan calls on Sunday came amid mounting controversy over revelations that military officials ordered a follow-up strike in the September 2 operation targeting a suspected drug-smuggling vessel, killing two survivors of the initial attack.
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Democratic and Republican lawmakers watched footage of the strikes last week in a closed-door briefing with military officials, but emerged from the screening with substantially different accounts of what happened.
Reactions to the footage split along partisan lines, with Democrats expressing deep concerns about the legality of the strikes and Republicans insisting they were justified.
Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’s armed services committee, said the targeted vessel had been “clearly incapacitated” in the initial strike, and the survivors were unarmed and without any means of communication.
“They ought to release the video. If they release the video, then everything that the Republicans are saying will clearly be portrayed to be completely false, and people will get a look at it, and they will see,” Smith said in an interview with the ABC News programme This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
“It seems pretty clear they don’t want to release this video because they don’t want people to see it because it’s very, very difficult to justify,” Smith added.
Jim Himes, who leads the Democrats on the House’s intelligence committee, said the American public should have the chance to judge the video for themselves.
“Look, there’s a certain amount of sympathy out there for going after drug runners, but I think it’s really important that people see what it looks like when the full force the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under just so that they have sort of a visceral feel for what it is that we’re doing,” Himes told CBS News’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.
Several Republicans said they would support the release of the video, even as they defended the strikes.
Senator Tom Cotton, whose account of the survivors trying to “flip” the boat and continue their voyage has been disputed by Democrats, said he would not object to the video’s release, but would defer to the judgement of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon.
“I didn’t find it distressing or disturbing. It looks like any number of dozens of strikes we’ve seen on Jeeps and pickup trucks in the Middle East over the years,” Cotton, who chairs the intelligence committee in the Senate, told NBC News’s Meet the Press.
John Curtis, a Republican senator from Utah, also suggested that he would support the video’s release, saying officials should “err on the side of transparency”.
“The American people, they like to make decisions too based on facts, not just on what we tell them,” Curtis told CNN’s State of the Union.
President Donald Trump, whose administration has carried out at least 22 strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific, said last week he would have “no problem” with releasing the footage.
Hegseth on Saturday struck a more cautious note during an appearance at a defence forum in California, telling a Q&A that officials were reviewing the possibility, but needed to make a “responsible” decision.
Scrutiny of the strikes has mounted since The Washington Post reported last month that US military officials carried out a second attack on two people clinging to the vessel’s wreckage after Hegseth directed commanders to leave no survivors.
Hegseth has repeatedly denied the report, which cited two unnamed sources, labelling it “fake news”, “fabricated” and “inflammatory”.
Legal scholars have argued that both the double-tap strike and the Trump administration’s military campaign against suspected drug traffickers more generally are illegal.
“The United States is not currently operating in a context of armed conflict in its strikes in the Caribbean. For that reason, this is not a context in which war crimes apply,” Tom Dannenbaum, an expert in the laws of war at Stanford University, told Al Jazeera.
“Instead, all of the strikes qualify as murder in violation of domestic criminal law, and extrajudicial killings in violation of international human rights law.”
At least 87 people have been killed in the strikes, which the Trump administration began in September.
The Trump administration has yet to make public any evidence to back its claims that the boats were carrying narcotics, were headed to the US, or that they were being commandeered by members of proscribed cartels.
