1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

This Republican administration must be held accountable for the brutal killings of civilian fishermen in Venezuela. In November 1945, Heinz-Wilhelm Eck, commander of the U-852, was tried and sentenced to death for war crimes due to his order to machine-gun the unarmed survivors of the torpedoed S.S. Peleus. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “kill them all” order amounts to the same thing. He ordered the fatal shooting of the survivors of a U.S. attack. What Hegseth ordered is the exact example used in the Military Manual to define an illegal act. The administration has confirmed the action. The administration has defended the action. These killings give the green light to other countries to do the same to U.S. citizens. The strikes on fishermen and boats are murder. Not providing quarter to the defenseless people clinging to the side of a damaged boat, and ordering a second strike violates international law and U.S. law. Is this truly who we have become as a nation? Please hold this Republican administration and Hegseth accountable for these murders. Stop the senseless killing and help restore some of the United States’ lost respect.