The alleged civilian disguise in a Venezuela strike

The plane used by the U.S. military to strike a boat accused of smuggling drugs off the coast of Venezuela last fall was painted to look like a civilian aircraft, AP reported Monday, citing two people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

AP said the plane was part of a secret U.S. fleet used for surveillance operations. AP also reported that the aircraft carried munitions in the fuselage rather than beneath the aircraft, describing the details as raising questions about how far the operation was disguised in ways that appear inconsistent with military protocol.

The plane’s appearance was first reported by The New York Times, AP said, before the information was confirmed by the two anonymous sources.

Pentagon response and “perfidy” concerns

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement that “the U.S. military utilizes a wide array of standard and nonstandard aircraft depending on mission requirements.” Wilson also said each aircraft goes through a “rigorous procurement process to ensure compliance with domestic law, department policies and regulations, and applicable international standards, including the law of armed conflict.”

AP reported that U.S. military guidelines on the laws of war prohibit troops from pretending to be civilians while engaging in combat. The practice was described in the report as “perfidy,” and AP cited manual language giving examples of the prohibition, including that “feigning civilian status and then attacking” is an example of the practice.

AP also cited an Air Force manual saying the practice was prohibited because it means the enemy “neglects to take precautions which are otherwise necessary.” And AP cited a Navy manual saying “attacking enemy forces while posing as a civilian puts all civilians at hazard,” adding that sailors must use offensive force “within the bounds of military honor, particularly without resort to perfidy.”

Place in a wider campaign and oversight pressure

AP said the plane was used in a Sept. 2 strike, which AP described as the first in what became a monthslong campaign of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats. The report said the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Venezuela began with the administration massing military resources in Latin America and attacking alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing at least 115 people, and culminated this month in a raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

AP said Maduro and his wife were spirited to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges. The report added that members of Congress have pressed U.S. officials for answers about the strikes, including questions focused on a follow-up strike that killed two survivors who were holding onto the wreckage of the vessel hit in an initial attack.

Legal experts cited in the AP report said the follow-on strike may have been unlawful, describing it as potentially out of line with laws of war because it involved shipwrecked sailors. The AP report said some lawmakers have called for the Pentagon to release the unedited video of the operation, and that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would not.

As attention has turned to the use of military force in Venezuela, AP reported that the U.S. Senate is preparing to vote this week on a war powers resolution that would prohibit further military action in Venezuela without authorization from lawmakers.

AP also reported that Trump was “so incensed” over the resolution’s potential effect on his war powers authority that he made calls to Republican senators who joined Democrats in voting to advance the resolution last week. In comments to AP, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the calls happened before last week’s vote and described Trump’s reaction, saying, “He was very, very fired up,” and characterizing Trump as “animated” on the subject.

AP said senators on Tuesday were able to review, in a classified setting, a still-undisclosed legal opinion from the White House supporting the use of military force to oust Maduro. AP said Sen. Rand Paul argued that the legal rationale should not remain secret, saying: “Legal arguments and constitutional arguments should all be public, and it’s a terrible thing that any of this is being kept secret because the arguments aren’t very good.”

AP reported that Sen. Peter Welch said he is not confident in the legality of the Venezuelan operation, saying he questioned Trump’s plans to “run” the country. Welch said there was “an ongoing question whether the use of military can be for bringing a person to justice,” and described Maduro as “a really bad guy,” according to AP.