1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing as a constituent deeply concerned about recent reporting on the Trump administration’s “double‑tap” strike on a suspected drug‑smuggling boat in the Caribbean on September 2, 2025, and a nearly identical incident weeks later with a very different outcome. According to major outlets, in the September 2 case U.S. forces disabled a small vessel, killing most on board, then carried out a second strike that killed two clearly identifiable survivors in or near the wreckage after a reported “kill them all” directive. Legal and military experts have stated that, if confirmed, intentionally killing survivors in this context could constitute murder under U.S. law and a war crime under international humanitarian law. In a later, very similar operation against another suspected smuggling vessel, U.S. forces again destroyed the craft and identified two survivors in the water, but this time they dispatched helicopters, rescued the survivors, and repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador through diplomatic channels instead of killing them. This shows the chain of command knew there was a lawful, non‑lethal pathway available once survivors were identified and that lethal “finishing shots” were not operationally required. Taken together, these two incidents strongly suggest that the September 2 killings were not an unavoidable battlefield decision but a discretionary choice made in the face of safer, legally available alternatives. That pattern is exactly the kind of evidence prosecutors and international legal experts look at when assessing whether unlawful killings were knowing and intentional rather than accidental. I respectfully request that you: - Press the Department of Defense and White House for all operational footage, strike logs, and legal reviews related to both incidents. - Support or initiate hearings into the rules of engagement used in these boat strikes and whether they comply with U.S. law and the law of armed conflict. - Forward this concern and supporting reporting to Representative Adam Smith, as former chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a key figure in defense oversight, and ask that he review these incidents as part of broader oversight of the use of lethal force in counter‑drug operations. As your constituent, I want to ensure that U.S. forces are not being ordered into actions that could expose them, and our country, to charges of unlawful killing or war crimes. Transparent oversight is essential to upholding the rule of law and protecting both civilians and service members. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.