CIA Reportedly Carried Out A Drone Strike Earlier On A Remote Port Facility On Venezuela's Coast

In a significant escalation of US actions against alleged narcotics networks linked to Venezuela, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly executed a drone strike on a remote coastal port facility in Venezuela earlier this month.

The operation, which sources familiar with classified details have described to CNN, appears to be the first known instance of an American attack on a land target inside Venezuelan territory since the current campaign began.

Trump publicly referenced the strike in late December but withheld specifics on the execution, the agency involved, the precise location, and the timing.

The reported action intensifies a weeks-long counter-narcotics and pressure campaign against the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that has already included naval buildups and dozens of maritime strikes.

Operation Details and US Government Statements

According to CNN's exclusive reporting, sources familiar with the matter said the CIA deployed a drone to strike a port facility on Venezuela's northern coast earlier in December.

The location was described as a 'remote dock' that US authorities believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store narcotics and transfer them to boats for onward shipment.

Sources also indicated that there were no casualties because the site was unoccupied at the time of the strike.

Trump first mentioned an unnamed 'facility' destroyed by the US in an interview on New York radio station WABC late in December. He later told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence and club that US forces had hit a dock 'where they load the boats up with drugs,' adding: '...that is no longer around'.

Trump declined to say whether the military or the CIA conducted the operation. He also did not specify when it occurred, saying only that it happened 'earlier this month'.

The CIA and the White House have not publicly commented on the strike beyond the president's remarks. A spokesperson for US Special Operations Command stated the command 'did not support this operation to include intel support,' suggesting the CIA acted independently of that element of US forces.

US Counter-Narcotics Campaign and Venezuela Policy

The reported drone strike comes amid an ongoing US campaign against narcotics smuggling routes emanating from Venezuela and Caribbean waters. Since September, US forces have conducted more than 30 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, actions that Washington describes as counter-narcotics operations.

Those maritime strikes, mostly using US military assets, have resulted in the destruction of vessels and at least 107 reported fatalities.

Though these operations were previously confined to international waters, the reported strike on a Venezuelan port facility signifies an apparent expansion of the theatre of operations onto Venezuelan soil.

Trump's broader strategy has included a sizeable US naval presence in the Caribbean, reported by multiple sources to include carrier strike groups and other assets, intended to pressure the Maduro government and interdict drug trafficking.

In October, Trump publicly acknowledged that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert lethal operations in Venezuela, a rare admission given the secretive nature of such actions.

International and Legal Implications

The reported CIA operation deepens questions over the legal and diplomatic ramifications of unilateral US strikes within another sovereign nation's territory. US law generally requires Congressional notification for covert actions, which the administration must provide to key lawmakers.

The Venezuelan government has not confirmed the strike. A separate incident involving a large fire at a chemical facility in Zulia state on 24 December sparked some speculation, but the company involved categorically denied any external attack and attributed the fire to other causes.

Venezuela's top leadership, including President Maduro, has so far remained publicly silent on the specific allegations of the CIA strike. However, senior Venezuelan officials have previously described US actions as imperialistic and have accused Washington of threats and harassment.