The Pentagon disguised a military aircraft as a civilian plane to wage its first attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat last year, killing 11, the New York Times reported today.

The alleged move would be in violation of international laws of armed conflict, which prohibit combatants from “feigning civilian status to fool adversaries ... a war crime called ‘perfidy’,” the Times reported.

The US strike was announced by President Donald Trump in a September 2, 2025, social media post that charged the targets were members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation “operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking and acts of violence and terror”.

The aircraft was painted to look like a civilian plane, and its munitions were hidden inside the fuselage instead of being carried visibly under its wings, the Times reported.

The White House has confirmed that a US admiral acting under the authority of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation, striking the boat twice.

“Two survivors of the initial attack later appeared to wave” at the disguised aircraft while clinging to wreckage before the military killed them in a follow-up strike, the Times reported.

Other recognisably military aircraft, including MQ-9 Reaper drones, have been used in the boat strikes since the first one.

At least 107 people have been killed in at least 30 strikes since last September, with 19 attacks in the Eastern Pacific, six in the Caribbean, and five in unknown locations.

The Times reported that questions about perfidy have been raised by Congress during closed-door briefings with military leaders, but there have not yet been public discussions on the classified matter.

-Agence France-Presse