Pete Hegseth’s bomb-first, question-later approach to alleged narcoterrorists is reportedly helping those same terrorists get off scot-free.
A direct bombing by Hegseth on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Ecuador destroyed the evidence that was crucial to the prosecution of the survivors, according to a damning report by the Washington Post.
Andrés Fernando Tufiño Chila, a 42-year-old Ecuadorian native with a drug-trafficking record, was one of two survivors of an October 16 US strike on a submarine the Pentagon alleges was carrying drugs overseas. Two others were killed in the strike, and the fourth was extradited to Colombia.
The US military captured Chila, then sent him back to Ecuador to be prosecuted. However, the United States provided the Ecuadorian government with no evidence that could lead to Chila’s arrest. Any evidence that Chila was committing a crime on that boat, such as seized drugs, GPS records, or cell phones, was washed up on the seabed.
The Ecuadorian government was forced to let Chila go, according to the Washington Post.
Andrés Fernando Tufiño Chila was let go by the Ecuadorian government, as the United States destroyed any evidence that could support that he committed a crime. / Ministerio del interior de Ecuador
The failure to catch even an alleged narcoterrorist is in extreme contradiction with the tough rhetoric on narcoterrorism of the 45-year-old Secretary of Defence.
“If these people were drug traffickers and they deserve death, how can you round them up and let them go?” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), a member of the House intelligence and foreign affairs committees, told the Post.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth staked his reputation and his job on the effectiveness of the boat attacks. / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
“We have consistently said that our intelligence indeed confirmed that these boats were trafficking narcotics destined for America. That same intelligence also confirms that the individuals involved in these drug operations are/were narco-terrorists, and we stand by that assessment,” the Pentagon stated in a statement to The Post.
Hegseth staked his reputation and potentially his job on the effectiveness of the boat attacks. Hegseth recently landed in hot water for an alleged “kill them all” order on a Venezuelan drug boat, killing the survivors of an initial Sept. 2 strike that critics labeled a potential war crime.
Hegseth stirred up controversy and embarrassment in one year as Defense Secretary. / Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
When reports of the order emerged in late November, Hegseth boasted, “Biden kedd the terrorists, we kill them.”
The “double tap” incident was Hegseth’s most serious controversy in a year full of embarrassments, leading to speculation that he would soon face the axe.
President Trump, 79, blamed the attack on Hegseth, saying, “I didn’t know about the second strike. I didn’t know anything about the people. I wasn’t involved.” However, he also supported Hegseth vocally during the ordeal.