US lawmakers have issued a strong warning to the Pentagon, threatening to block a portion of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget if the military does not turn over complete, unedited footage of recent US strikes on vessels operating in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The demand forms part of a broader push in Washington to scrutinise what many see as an undeclared and legally ambiguous military campaign directed at Venezuela.
The provision, included in the newly released National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) — a sweeping annual defence policy bill expected to pass by year’s end — makes clear that Congress is unwilling to continue funding high-level Pentagon travel without better oversight of the operation. The NDAA clause stipulates that only 75 per cent of the Secretary’s travel allowance will be released until full transparency is provided through mandatory reporting and video evidence of the strikes.
The Department of Defence has yet to comment on the congressional mandate. However, pressure has been escalating for weeks, with lawmakers from both major parties demanding clarity on the administration’s long-term intentions following a sustained military buildup near Venezuelan territorial waters.
Since early September, US naval forces have carried out at least 22 targeted strikes on vessels that the Trump administration accuses of facilitating narcotics trafficking linked to Venezuela's government and allied militant groups. Officials have framed the actions as part of a counter-“narcoterrorism” mission designed to cut off drug flows into the United States. Yet, the operations have already resulted in 87 deaths and ignited serious questions about adherence to constitutional and international legal boundaries.
Critics in Congress argue that President Trump is effectively waging a prolonged military campaign without the explicit authorisation required by the US Constitution, which assigns Congress — not the President — the exclusive power to declare war. Senior lawmakers have also raised concern that the killings may violate international norms, especially after reports emerged that US forces fired repeatedly on survivors from the first vessel struck on September 2, rather than attempting rescue.
Secretary Hegseth recently defended the conduct of the operation, saying military personnel followed established rules of engagement. He added that no decision had been made yet on whether the withheld footage should be publicly released, claiming the matter was still under internal review.
The NDAA language gives Congress greater leverage by conditioning Pentagon compliance on access to both overdue quarterly reports on executed military orders and unedited strike videos involving groups designated as terrorists in the US Southern Command theatre — which includes waters near Venezuela. Congressional officials who received a classified briefing last week said they remained deeply uneasy about actions that appear to cross humanitarian lines, while several Republicans countered that the strikes were lawful and necessary to neutralise threats.
The confrontation now represents one of the most direct clashes yet between the Trump administration and Congress over war powers. As the NDAA moves toward final passage, the outcome may force greater transparency on military operations unfolding far from public view — and determine whether the campaign near Venezuela can continue with full legal and political backing.
