WASHINGTON – A recent drone strike, reportedly orchestrated by the CIA, targeted a docking area in Venezuela believed to be utilized by drug cartels. This information comes from anonymous sources familiar with the classified operation.

This marks the first U.S. operation on Venezuelan territory since the commencement of strikes in September, significantly intensifying the administration’s pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Venezuelan authorities have yet to comment on the incident.

President Donald Trump mentioned the operation during a Friday interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC radio in New York, describing it as an attack on a “big facility where ships come from.”

Later, while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Trump elaborated, saying the operation targeted a “dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.” However, he refrained from confirming whether the CIA or the military conducted the strike.

The CIA and White House have remained tight-lipped, offering no additional comments. CNN initially reported the CIA’s involvement. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for Special Operations Command, clarified that their forces did not participate in the operation, nor did they provide intelligence support.

This strike is part of a broader escalation that began with a significant U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in August. The U.S. has since carried out over 30 military operations targeting alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Additionally, President Trump has initiated a quasi-blockade to intercept sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.

Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. He’s also taken the unusual step of publicly acknowledging that he had authorized the CIA to carry out covert action inside Venezuela.

“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” he said in October as he confirmed to reporters his approval for the CIA to act. “And the other thing, the drugs, we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.”

All the while, Trump has repeatedly said Maduro’s days in power are numbered. The Venezuelan leader and members of his inner circle have been under federal indictment in the United States since 2020 for narcoterrorism and other charges.

Maduro has denied the charges. The U.S. Justice Department this year doubled to $50 million the reward for information that leads to his arrest.

The Venezuelan president made no mention of the CIA operation during an hourlong speech Tuesday at an international leadership school for women.

—

AP writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed reporting.