WASHINGTON — A Navy admiral at the center of a widening controversy over U.S. strikes on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean insisted Thursday that there was no “kill them all” directive — even as newly revealed attack footage left lawmakers visibly shaken and deepened bipartisan scrutiny of the mission that killed two survivors.

Adm. Frank Bradley, who led Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at the time of the Sept. 2 operation, testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill amid allegations that he ordered a follow-up strike to satisfy Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s purported demand to leave no survivors.

The White House and Hegseth have repeatedly denied that any such order was given.

Video Shows Survivors Clinging to Wreckage for an Hour

But a classified video of the strike — shown to House and Senate committees — is raising urgent questions about the legality of the operation.

According to two individuals who viewed the footage, an airburst munition detonated over an 11-man suspected narco-boat, killing nine crew members instantly. When the smoke cleared, two men remained alive, shirtless, unarmed and struggling to right the shattered vessel.

The survivors spent roughly an hour attempting to flip the wreck, apparently lacking weapons, radios, or means of escape.

Despite that, Bradley — according to Reuters — authorized additional munitions, believing the cocaine-buoyed wreckage could drift long enough to be recovered, potentially allowing the men to rejoin cartel operations.

Lawmakers said the video shows three more strikes against the crippled boat.

Democrats: The Survivors Were No Threat

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, called the footage “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in public service.”

“The fact is that we killed two people who were in deep distress and had neither the means nor obviously the intent to continue their mission,” Himes told reporters.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “deeply disturbed” and urged the Pentagon to release the footage publicly.

The Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual forbids attacking shipwrecked combatants who are no longer participating in hostilities, describing the practice as “clearly illegal.”

Republicans Defend the Operation: “Lawful, Needful, Righteous”

Republicans saw it differently.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a fierce defender of the Trump administration, emerged from the classified briefing praising the operation as not only legal, but exemplary.

“The first strike, the second strike and the third and the fourth strike were entirely lawful and needful,” Cotton declared. “They were exactly what we would expect our military commanders to do.”

Cotton argued that the survivors attempted to flip the boat to continue their mission transporting drugs into the United States.

He pointed to cartel tactics, asserting that nearby narco-boats often recover survivors and cargo:

“I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat — loaded with drugs — so they could stay in the fight.”

A Legal No-Man’s-Land: A “War” With Drug Cartels

The Trump administration has repeatedly framed its maritime strike campaign as part of an “armed conflict” against narco-terrorist cartels, giving the military broad latitude.

But legal experts warn the U.S. is operating in a murky zone: drug traffickers are not a nation-state, and the U.S. has not declared a formal armed conflict with any cartel.

If the U.S. is not in a formal war, killing incapacitated survivors could be treated as homicide under domestic or international law.

If the administration’s “armed conflict” claim is accepted, firing on shipwrecked combatants would still be prohibited under long-standing laws of war.

What Comes Next

Congress is now demanding answers — and possibly the public release of the strike video. Bradley’s testimony did little to cool controversy, and Hegseth is all but guaranteed to be called next.

Even some Republicans privately acknowledge the optics are politically dangerous, especially after Rep. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) accused Hegseth of authorizing unlawful killings and said the Pentagon is “tying itself in knots” trying to justify the strikes.

The Pentagon continues to defend the mission, calling the Sept. 2 operation part of a broader campaign to stop deadly fentanyl and cocaine pipelines from South America.

But the video, now circulating through the halls of Congress, has shifted the tone dramatically — from national-security triumph to growing questions about whether the United States crossed a legal and moral line at sea.