Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday defended the U.S. military’s recent strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in response to a recent report from The Washington Post.

The Post cited sources who said Hegseth had ordered “to kill everybody” on an alleged drug boat in an early September attack, which reportedly required two strikes after an initial one failed to kill all on board.

The U.S. military has carried out over 20 strikes targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing more than 80 people that the administration has said were “narco-terrorists.”

The strikes have resulted in backlash from both sides of the aisle, with some raising questions about the legal grounding of the attacks.