The White House has confirmed that a top US Navy commander ordered a second round of strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September despite almost completely destroying it in the first attack.
A double-tap strike essentially means carrying out two strikes on the same target – often wounding or killing medics and civilians who are coming to the aid of people harmed in the first attack. Here is more about how the United States has used such strikes throughout history.
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Did the US carry out a double-tap strike?
The US military struck a boat in the Caribbean on September 2, as part of its ongoing military campaign against drug-trafficking networks.
Its campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has, so far, killed more than 80 people while targeting at least 21 boats it claims were trafficking drugs. It has not provided any evidence to support this.
The first strike on September 2 destroyed one vessel and killed nine people. Two survivors were left clinging to debris in the water.
But the Washington Post has reported that mission commander Admiral Frank Bradley then authorised a second strike, killing the two survivors.
The Post reported that Bradley had acted after receiving a verbal directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. One source characterised that directive as: “The order was to kill everybody.” Hegseth has denied issuing such an order.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law” in ordering the second strike.
Has the US used ‘double-tap’ strikes before?
The US is believed to be one of the main countries to have used double-tap strikes extensively in recent history.
Here is a brief timeline of Washington’s alleged or confirmed use of double-tap strikes on various targets.
2025: Yemen
In April, the US conducted air strikes on the Ras Isa oil port in Yemen.
In a social media post, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the objective of these strikes was “to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen”.
CENTCOM, the US military arm overseeing operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, added: “Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists.”
The strike killed at least 80 people and wounded another 150, according to the Hodeidah Health Office in Yemen. The Houthi-led government said that the strikes had been made on a civilian facility.
