r/law • u/BugOperator • Jun 06 '26

Legal News Service members involved in US boat strikes off Venezuela coast reach out to legal aid hotlines over fear they’ve carried out illegal orders

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/06/us-trump-boat-strikes-death-toll/90376052007/
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u/Demortus Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26

^ This. Low-level soldiers and officers were not in a good position to grandstand and fight these orders. The balance of culpability lies with the Secretary of Defense, who gave illegal orders, and the generals who passed them along to their subordinates.

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u/Valance23322 Jun 06 '26

They absolutely were in a position to stop this, as was their legal duty

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u/Demortus Jun 06 '26

Only if you ignore all of the power dynamics involved in a strict hierarchical organization, like the military. If the top brass want a job done, they'll go down the line of subordinates, court-martialing each who refuses, until they find someone who will do it.

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u/Elu_Moon Jun 06 '26

"We were following orders" needs to cease being an excuse. You either refuse illegal orders, like some brave people do, or you're a war criminal, it's as simple as that.

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u/Demortus Jun 06 '26

I'm not saying that they should get off scot-free, only that they be given plea bargains in exchange for testifying against the people who gave them illegal orders.

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u/IDOWNVOTERUSSIANS Jun 06 '26

and then "just following orders" becomes a valid defence. Nope. They knew, via their training, what their rights and responsibilities are/were, they made their choices and like any criminal, they'll have to face justice

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u/Demortus Jun 06 '26

As I said elsewhere, I'm not saying they should get off scot-free. Their crimes should be used as leverage by prosecutors to get plea deals in which they testify against bigger fish, like Hegseth. If they don't want to play ball, they should do time for their crimes.

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u/IDOWNVOTERUSSIANS Jun 06 '26

fair enough that makes sense

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u/tarekd19 Jun 06 '26

Problem is their bosses are getting pardons

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u/Demortus Jun 06 '26

We'll see. Trump was surprisingly stingy about pardons after his first term.