Pete Hegseth Controversy

Fox News host Pete Hegseth is facing intense backlash after advocating on-air for the U.S. military to launch strikes on drug smuggling boats. His suggestion to “blow up” and “sink” vessels suspected of carrying narcotics ignited a firestorm, drawing condemnation from across the political spectrum. In a rare break from ideological solidarity, even some conservative media voices who typically align with Hegseth's hardline views publicly denounced the proposal, with one Newsmax host reportedly calling it a potential "war crime."

The controversy has fueled a debate over the legality and ethics of using military force in the war on drugs and has exposed a rift within conservative circles about how far the U.S. should go to secure its borders.

Pete Hegseth, a military veteran and co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, is known for his outspoken conservative views. (Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Who is Pete Hegseth?

Pete Hegseth is a co-host of Fox News's “Fox & Friends Weekend” and a prominent conservative commentator. A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he served as an Army National Guard captain and was awarded two Bronze Stars. After his military service, Hegseth led conservative veterans' advocacy groups like Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.

Joining Fox News in 2014, he became a fervent supporter of Donald Trump and served as an informal advisor to the former president on military and veterans' affairs. Hegseth is known for his provocative on-air persona and has been at the center of several past controversies, including:

• Claiming he hadn't washed his hands in 10 years, a comment he later said was a joke.
• Accidentally striking a drummer with an axe during a live television stunt in 2015, resulting in minor injuries.
• Reportedly lobbying President Trump to grant controversial pardons to U.S. service members accused or convicted of war crimes, an action criticized for undermining military justice.

The "Drug Boat Strikes" Remarks

The current firestorm erupted during a Fox & Friends Weekend segment in late May 2023 discussing the U.S. opioid crisis. Citing the tens of thousands of annual overdose deaths from fentanyl, Hegseth argued for a more aggressive, militaristic approach to stop drug trafficking.

“We know where these drug boats are coming from,” Hegseth stated. “At some point, if you want to stop this scourge killing tens of thousands of Americans, you gotta start blowing up drug smuggling boats. Just sink them.”

A video clip of Hegseth's comments, circulated by the watchdog group Media Matters for America, quickly went viral and drew millions of views. (via Media Matters)

His call to destroy vessels without due process immediately raised legal and ethical alarms, with critics arguing it amounted to a call for extrajudicial violence.

Backlash From Both Sides of the Aisle

While criticism from liberal commentators was expected, the pushback from conservative circles was particularly striking. According to The Daily Beast, a host on the rival conservative network Newsmax labeled Hegseth's proposal a potential “war crime,” highlighting a significant crack in the typically unified front of right-wing media on law-and-order issues.

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly also criticized the remarks, cautioning against "vigilante tactics" and calling the comments "bluster that isn’t grounded in legal reality or smart policy."

Legal and Ethical Concerns: War on Drugs vs. War Crimes

Experts in international law swiftly condemned the proposal. Under the Geneva Conventions and other international treaties, lethal force is generally reserved for military targets during an armed conflict. Drug traffickers are considered criminals, not enemy combatants, and are subject to arrest and prosecution.

Intentionally sinking a civilian vessel without warning or due process could be considered an extrajudicial killing and, depending on the context, a war crime. Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis told NBC News that the correct approach is to work with allies through law enforcement and intelligence, not to "unilaterally start sinking boats."

Current U.S. policy, primarily executed by the U.S. Coast Guard, focuses on interdiction—boarding and seizing vessels, arresting suspects, and confiscating narcotics. A famous 2019 operation saw the Coast Guard intercept a "narco-submarine" carrying 17,000 pounds of cocaine not by sinking it, but by boarding it at sea and capturing the crew.

Video from a 2019 U.S. Coast Guard operation shows personnel boarding a moving narco-sub, demonstrating the standard practice of interdiction and seizure rather than destruction. (Video: U.S. Coast Guard)

Political Context and Fox News's Response

Hegseth’s comments tap into a broader, increasingly aggressive rhetoric on the right regarding drug cartels. Some Republican politicians, such as Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Dan Crenshaw, have introduced proposals to designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, which could authorize the use of military force. Former President Donald Trump reportedly asked about bombing drug labs in Mexico, and Governor Ron DeSantis has suggested using deadly force against traffickers at the border.

These proposals have been vehemently rejected by the Mexican government as a violation of its sovereignty. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has condemned such rhetoric as "irresponsible" and a threat to diplomatic relations.

Fox News has not issued any public statement or on-air correction regarding the controversy. The network recently settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million over false 2020 election claims, placing its on-air content under heightened scrutiny.

For his part, Hegseth has doubled down, tweeting that the fentanyl crisis requires "thinking outside the box to defeat the cartels" and that they should be treated as terrorists. While the immediate outrage may fade, the episode highlights the volatile intersection of media rhetoric, the devastating opioid crisis, and the complex realities of international law.