Facing war crimes allegations, Pete Hegseth posts AI image of Franklin the Turtle firing missiles at drug boats
In apparent response to allegations that his lethal strikes targeting alleged drug traffickers amount to extrajudicial murder, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted an image of children’s book character Franklin the Turtle firing a rocket launcher from a helicopter.
On his personal X account on Sunday night, Hegseth posted an AI-generated book cover with the title Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists, with the titular turtle wearing combat gear and hanging outside a military helicopter as he takes aim at three boats below.
“For your Christmas wish list,” Hegseth wrote in the caption. He tagged U.S. Southern Command, which is overseeing American military operations targeting boats accused of smuggling drugs into the United States. More than 80 people have been killed in more than a dozen attacks over the last several months.
In response, X users posted AI-generated Franklin covers of their own, with titles like Franklin Goes to The Hague, Franklin On Trial at the ICC, and Franklin Goes to Jail.
The Independent has requested comment from Franklin publisher Kids Can Press.
Hegseth’s post follows reporting in The Washington Post that Hegseth ordered military personnel to not leave any survivors behind.
On September 2, military personnel fired a missile striking a vessel in the Caribbean that carried 11 people accused of trafficking drugs into the United States. When two survivors emerged from the wreckage, a Special Operations commander overseeing the attack ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions to “kill everybody,” according to The Washington Post, citing officials with direct knowledge of the operation.
After the smoke cleared, the two survivors were then “blown apart in the water,” according to the report.
News of Hegseth’s alleged command follows growing legal scrutiny from international investigators and members of Congress alleging that the Trump administration’s deadly campaign amounts to illegal extrajudicial killings, which law-of-war experts speaking to The Independent have labeled outright murder and a war crime.
Democratic and Republican members of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee are pledging “vigorous oversight” of the Pentagon in the wake of the news.
Senator Roger Wicker, the GOP chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, said they have “directed inquiries” to the Defense Department “and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”
The Pentagon initially declined to comment on Hegseth’s alleged command, but the secretary later issued a lengthy statement on X defending the campaign without denying whether he ordered officials to “kill everybody” on the boats despite not posing any immediate threat to the United States.
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” he wrote on Sunday. “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”
In remarks to reporters Sunday night, Trump said he has “great confidence” that Hegseth did not verbally order military personnel to leave no survivors.
