CIA drone strike on Venezuelan port marks first known US attack inside the Country
TOI GLOBAL DESK | TOI GLOBAL | Dec 30, 2025, 23:15 IST
CIA drone strike on Venezuelan port marks first known US attack inside the Country
U.S. intelligence sources say the CIA carried out a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility linked to drug trafficking, escalating tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
TL;DR
As per reports, the CIA executed a drone attack on a port on the coast of Venezuela, which is frequently used by the Tren de Aragua gang, in the first week of August. No one was killed as a result of the attack, but it showed the first U.S. operation against a target in Venezuela, which is a sign of a huge escalation in the pressure campaign of Washington.
The Central Intelligence Agency carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility along Venezuela’s coastline, according to multiple sources familiar with the operation, marking the first known U.S. attack on a target inside Venezuelan territory.
Sources told CNN that the strike targeted a remote dock believed by U.S. officials to be used by the Venezuelan criminal organisation, Tren de Aragua to store narcotics and transfer them onto boats for international shipment. At the time of the air strike, the building was already empty, and sources reported no casualties.
There was no public announcement of this mission until CNN's report. U.S. Special Operations Forces were said to be providing intelligence support, thus making the American military presence in the region quite clear, according to two sources. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command, rejected that assertion, stating that Special Operations did not back the mission to include intelligence support.
Trump seemed to recognise the aerial attack in an interview last week; however, his words did not draw much attention at first. When questioned again on Monday, Trump confirmed that U.S. forces struck what he described as a dock area used to load boats with drugs, but he declined to say whether the military or the CIA conducted the attack.
“So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump said Monday. “It’s the implementation area, and that is no longer around.”
The attack might be seen as a U.S. move escalating the pressure exerted on the Venezuelan ruler, Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington wants to alienate by sanctions and military actions. Up to now, U.S. strikes against Venezuela have been known to target suspected drug smuggling ships in international waters, not the facilities located on the Venezuelan mainland.
The U.S. has claimed the destruction of over 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as part of its anti-narcotics operations. Trump has also ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela and has repeatedly threatened direct action inside the country.
One source described the port strike as operationally successful but largely symbolic, noting that drug traffickers use numerous facilities along Venezuela’s coast. The strike reportedly generated little immediate reaction inside Venezuela.
The CIA has chosen not to make any comments on the operation. CNN has also asked for comments from the White House, U.S. Special Operations Command, and Venezuela's Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier this year, Trump expanded the CIA’s authority to conduct operations in Latin America, including within Venezuela, according to prior CNN reporting. While the U.S. military has legal authority to strike suspected traffickers at sea, its authority does not extend to land-based targets inside Venezuela.
Administration officials have offered differing explanations for the campaign. While framed publicly as a counter-narcotics effort, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that the boat strikes were intended to pressure Maduro politically. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has compared drug trafficking groups to terrorist organisations, saying at the Reagan National Defence Forum that narcotics traffickers are the equivalent of al Qaeda in the Western Hemisphere.
As per reports, the CIA executed a drone attack on a port on the coast of Venezuela, which is frequently used by the Tren de Aragua gang, in the first week of August. No one was killed as a result of the attack, but it showed the first U.S. operation against a target in Venezuela, which is a sign of a huge escalation in the pressure campaign of Washington.
The Central Intelligence Agency carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility along Venezuela’s coastline, according to multiple sources familiar with the operation, marking the first known U.S. attack on a target inside Venezuelan territory.
Sources told CNN that the strike targeted a remote dock believed by U.S. officials to be used by the Venezuelan criminal organisation, Tren de Aragua to store narcotics and transfer them onto boats for international shipment. At the time of the air strike, the building was already empty, and sources reported no casualties.
There was no public announcement of this mission until CNN's report. U.S. Special Operations Forces were said to be providing intelligence support, thus making the American military presence in the region quite clear, according to two sources. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command, rejected that assertion, stating that Special Operations did not back the mission to include intelligence support.
Trump seemed to recognise the aerial attack in an interview last week; however, his words did not draw much attention at first. When questioned again on Monday, Trump confirmed that U.S. forces struck what he described as a dock area used to load boats with drugs, but he declined to say whether the military or the CIA conducted the attack.
“So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump said Monday. “It’s the implementation area, and that is no longer around.”
The attack might be seen as a U.S. move escalating the pressure exerted on the Venezuelan ruler, Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington wants to alienate by sanctions and military actions. Up to now, U.S. strikes against Venezuela have been known to target suspected drug smuggling ships in international waters, not the facilities located on the Venezuelan mainland.
The U.S. has claimed the destruction of over 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as part of its anti-narcotics operations. Trump has also ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela and has repeatedly threatened direct action inside the country.
One source described the port strike as operationally successful but largely symbolic, noting that drug traffickers use numerous facilities along Venezuela’s coast. The strike reportedly generated little immediate reaction inside Venezuela.
The CIA has chosen not to make any comments on the operation. CNN has also asked for comments from the White House, U.S. Special Operations Command, and Venezuela's Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier this year, Trump expanded the CIA’s authority to conduct operations in Latin America, including within Venezuela, according to prior CNN reporting. While the U.S. military has legal authority to strike suspected traffickers at sea, its authority does not extend to land-based targets inside Venezuela.
Administration officials have offered differing explanations for the campaign. While framed publicly as a counter-narcotics effort, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that the boat strikes were intended to pressure Maduro politically. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has compared drug trafficking groups to terrorist organisations, saying at the Reagan National Defence Forum that narcotics traffickers are the equivalent of al Qaeda in the Western Hemisphere.