A “Double Strike” Near Venezuela Triggered a LOAC Firestorm... Now the NDAA Is the Weapon

A controversial U.S. strike near Venezuela has triggered a major oversight fight in Washington. According to reporting and statements from government officials, an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat was hit, and a follow-on strike reportedly killed two survivors—raising serious Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) questions about whether people no longer posing an active threat were unlawfully targeted.

Now Congress is using the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as leverage to force the Pentagon to provide the full, unedited footage and the complete paper trail behind the operation—authorizations, justification documents, and supporting records. The Pentagon has conducted classified briefings for key lawmakers, but members of Congress want transparency and accountability, arguing that oversight requires the uncut evidence, not summaries.

In today’s Snapshot Report, I get deeper into the transparency fight happening over the Venezuelan boat strike and the NDAA, what the NDAA is and how it’s been used in the past, speculation on whether it should be used as an oversight, or if it’s creating a budget hostage situation, and more. Check it out below:

Learn more about:

• What happened in the strike and why the “survivors” question matters under LOAC

• What U.S. officials have said in defense of the operation as an anti-narcotics action

• Why lawmakers say this is more than a routine counter-drug interdiction

• Why the NDAA is so powerful, and how Congress uses it to enforce oversight

• What this dispute could mean for future strikes, transparency, and accountability

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