Author: Filip Timotija

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth left Democrats frustrated after the classified, closed-door briefing on the ongoing Trump administration’s alleged drug-boat strikes in the Caribbean and other actions in the region. “It was a very unsatisfying briefing. I asked Secretary of Defense Hegseth whether he would let every member of Congress see the unedited videos of the…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing pressure over a Washington Post report that he ordered the military to “kill everybody” in a boat strike in the Caribbean, with Democrats alleging a potential war crime and President Trump saying he wouldn’t have ordered a second strike. The Post reported Friday that Hegseth issued an order to “kill…

The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said late Saturday they are seeking “full accounting” of an early September U.S. military attack against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean after a report alleged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. troops to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel.  “This committee is committed to providing…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that 500 more National Guard troops will be deployed to Washington, D.C., after two National Guard members were shot blocks from the White House on Wednesday. “That’s why President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the Secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional…

Senate Democrats are asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi to declassify and publicly release the Justice Department (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel’s (OLC) classified, written opinion outlining the legal basis for the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.  Thirteen Senate Democrats, all members of the…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. government’s decision to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization provides the Defense Department with “new options” to go after the alleged drug cartel, which officials alleged is headed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.  “Well, it brings a whole bunch of new options to the…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Wednesday that the U.S. military conducted another strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing three “narco-terrorists.” Hegseth said the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization and that the individuals on board were engaged in “narco-trafficking.” It is unclear which designated terrorist organization the defense secretary was referring to. The strike, which took place on Wednesday, was conducted in international waters and no U.S. service members were injured in the operation, according to the defense secretary. “These strikes will continue, day after day. These are not simply drug runners—these…

President Trump tapped Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top military aide, Army Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, to be the next Army vice chief of staff, replacing Gen. James Mingus, who has been in the post for less than two years. The Senate received LaNeve’s nomination to be the No. 2 Army officer post Monday, according to a congressional notice. He has served as Hegseth’s senior military assistant since April. LaNeve’s new post will need confirmation by the Senate.  If confirmed by the upper chamber, LaNeve will replace Mingus, who has been in the role since January 2024. Mingus’s office declined to…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued on Tuesday that President Trump’s decision to refrain from sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine deflated Russia’s interest in engaging in diplomacy that could lead to the potential end of the war in Eastern Europe. “The frontline can spark diplomacy. Instead, Russia continues to do everything to weasel out of diplomacy — and as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for us — for Ukraine — became less immediate, Russia’s interest in diplomacy faded almost automatically,” Zelensky said during his daily video address. “This signals that this very issue — the issue of…

The Trump administration plans to repatriate back to Ecuador and Colombia the two alleged drug traffickers who survived the U.S. military’s recent boat strike in the Caribbean.  President Trump announced on Saturday that the two survivors of the Thursday boat strike by U.S. forces, which killed two other “narcoterrorists,” will be transferred over to their countries of origin for “detention and prosecution.”  It is unclear if Ecuador and Colombia will prosecute the alleged narcoterrorists or if they will be released. The transfer of the survivors comes after they were detained on Thursday, following the strike, and transferred to a Navy…