US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio conducted briefings on Tuesday for every member of the Senate and House of Representatives, responding to demands for more information about a campaign of more than 20 strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed more than 80 people.
On Monday, the US military struck three vessels in the Pacific, killing eight people.
"In keeping with long-standing Department of War policy, Department of Defense policy, of course we're not going to release a top-secret full unedited video of that to the general public," Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Rubio said the administration would continue to engage with Congress, describing the mission as "highly successful".
Concerns about the US military's campaign against boats off Venezuela, from both Democrats and President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans, increased after it became public that the commander overseeing the operation had ordered a second strike that killed two survivors as they clung to wreckage on September 2, which human rights groups called a violation of international law.
Trump initially said he was open to the video being made public but later deferred to Hegseth.
Democrats said the briefings were too short and officials from Trump's administration had not seemed prepared to thoroughly answer questions.
Republicans generally praised Trump's action, which the administration says is intended to fight trafficking in drugs responsible for the deaths of Americans.
The US indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on narcoterrorism charges in 2020, during Trump's first term as president, and has accused his government of harbouring "narcoterrorists".
Maduro and his government have always denied all criminal accusations and say the US is seeking a leadership change to take control of Venezuela's vast natural resources, including its oil.
In wide-ranging interviews with Vanity Fair, Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, said the boat strikes were aimed at putting pressure on Maduro.
"(Trump) wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle," the magazine quoted Wiles saying in an article published on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has been building up forces in the Caribbean, including deploying an aircraft carrier, warships, and F-35 aircraft.
Trump this month released his National Security Strategy, arguing the US should revive the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere to be Washington's zone of influence.
