Demand Progress

Release the boat airstrike videos and investigate Hegseth!

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    Release the boat airstrike videos and investigate Hegseth!

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to compel the Pentagon to release video footage of all airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean. We urge you to investigate Defense Secretary Hegseth for war crimes, and stop U.S. military aggression against Venezuela and other countries in Latin America.

    Pete Hegseth is scrambling to hide the truth about his reported “kill everybody” order during the September 2nd airstrike on a boat in the Caribbean.1 Experts have said an order of this nature, leading to a second strike to kill defenseless surviving passengers, could be a war crime.2

    Hegseth said he won’t release video of the bombing even though Congress just passed a law demanding that he hand over the footage.3 Rep. Jim Himes, who saw the video in a classified briefing, said, “What I saw in that room is one of the most troubling scenes I’ve ever seen in my time in public service.”4

    Congress must compel the Pentagon to provide full transparency to the public of this horrific act, and lawmakers must hold Hegseth accountable.

    Sign the petition: Release video footage of the boat airstrikes and investigate Hegseth for war crimes!

    "Of course we're not going to release a top secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public," Hegseth told reporters.5 What is Hegseth hiding?

    Trump’s strikes on at least 21 boats in the Caribbean, killing at least 95 people, have been widely denounced by human rights organizations and members of Congress as extrajudicial killings violating international law.6

    Congress has a responsibility to secure the release of all footage of airstrikes in the Caribbean so lawmakers and the public can see if Trump officials have committed other crimes. It’s time for Congress to stop letting this administration violate the law domestically and abroad.

    Sign the petition: Release footage of the boat bombings in the Caribbean so the public can hold this administration accountable.

    Sources:

    1. The Washington Post, "Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all,” November 28, 2025.
    2. Ibid.
    3. PBS News, "Hegseth says he won't publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean,” December 16, 2025.
    4. The Intercept, "Video of U.S. Military Killing Boat Strike Survivors is Horrifying, Lawmakers Reveal,” December 4, 2025.
    5. PBS News, "Hegseth says he won't publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean,” December 16, 2025.
    6. Reuters, "Exclusive: US to launch new phase of Venezuela operations, sources say,” November 22, 2025.