A growing narrative alleging that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike on a narcoterrorist boat targeted by the Trump administration on Sept. 2 is facing new scrutiny following additional reporting from the New York Times.

The Washington Post had previously claimed, citing unnamed sources, that a Special Operations commander “ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions,” asserting that the action was intended to kill two survivors clinging to the wreckage.

Hegseth denied the allegation, calling it “fabricated.”

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The White House Press Secretary also stated that Hegseth never issued any order for a second strike on the vessel.

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According to the Washington Post report, the alleged order was described as part of what the outlet called the administration’s “war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere.”

The claim centered on the assertion that two individuals in the water were targeted because of instructions from Hegseth.

New reporting from the New York Times, citing five U.S. officials familiar with the operation, supports the administration’s position that Hegseth ordered the initial strike but did not direct any subsequent action.

The officials spoke separately on condition of anonymity because the matter remains under investigation.

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The New York Times reported: “According to five U.S. officials, who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter that is under investigation, Mr. Hegseth, ahead of the Sept. 2 attack, ordered a strike that would kill the people on the boat and destroy the vessel and its purported cargo of drugs. But, each official said, Mr. Hegseth’s directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile turned out not to fully accomplish all of those things. And, the officials said, his order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast.”

The Times further reported that Admiral Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and “then several follow-up strikes that killed the initial survivors and sank the disabled boat.”

The officials told the Times that “as that operation unfolded,” Hegseth did not give Bradley any further orders.

The additional reporting presents a different sequence of decision-making than what was originally suggested.

The Times also noted that two officials “questioned whether the surviving people were Admiral Bradley’s intended target in the second strike, as opposed to the purported drugs and the disabled vessel.”

According to those officials, the cargo “remained a threat and a lawful military target because another cartel-associated boat might have come to retrieve it.”

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This account directly contradicts the portrayal that Hegseth ordered the killing of survivors floating in the water.

Instead, the officials cited by the Times indicated that Bradley exercised operational authority during the unfolding situation, while Hegseth issued no further direction beyond authorizing the initial strike.

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Hegseth said Admiral Bradley had his “100 percent support.”

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