The CIA has quietly taken President Donald Trump’s undeclared war on Venezuela to a new level, launching a drone strike on a port facility inside the country in what appears to be the first acknowledged U.S. attack on Venezuelan soil.
Earlier this month, U.S. forces targeted a secluded dock, allegedly utilized by the Tren de Aragua gang for drug trafficking, according to officials speaking anonymously to CNN. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported from the strike.
CNN reports that the drone attack demolished a dock located on Venezuela’s coast, which U.S. officials suspect was a hub for storing drugs and preparing boats for export. Sources indicate that no personnel were present during the strike. While two sources claim that U.S. Special Operations Forces provided intelligence assistance, Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for the U.S. Special Operations Command, denied this, stating, “Special Operations did not support this operation, including intel support.”
Former President Donald Trump appeared to reference the attack during a December 26 interview, boasting about the U.S. dismantling a “significant facility where ships depart,” as part of his Venezuela strategy. When questioned further, he mentioned that the U.S. targeted “the dock area where boats are loaded with drugs,” but did not specify whether the CIA or military forces executed the operation. “We hit all the boats, and now we’ve targeted the area,” Trump noted to reporters. “That was their operational base, which is now eliminated.”
The CIA has refrained from commenting on the operation, which, according to CNN, might heighten tensions with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who is already under pressure from a vigorous U.S. campaign. The U.S. has previously destroyed over 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, labeling it a counter-narcotics initiative against Venezuelan drug traffickers. Additionally, Trump ordered a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela, tightening economic constraints further.
Prior to this month’s strike, the U.S. had restricted its actions to suspected trafficking vessels in international waters, despite Trump’s repeated threats of strikes within Venezuela. CNN notes that earlier this year, Trump expanded the CIA’s authority to conduct operations in Latin America, including Venezuela, while military operations remained limited to sea targets.
The rationale behind the U.S. campaign in Venezuela has varied from combating drug trafficking to seeking regime change. Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, informed Vanity Fair that the attacks on the boats were intended not only to intercept cocaine but also to pressure Maduro into submission. To date, Maduro has shown no indication of relinquishing power.
CIA strike follows boat attacks and oil blockade
The CIA declined to comment on the operation, which CNN says could sharply escalate tensions with Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, already facing an aggressive U.S. pressure campaign. Washington previously destroyed more than 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Officials branded it a counter-narcotics effort, targeting vessels tied to Venezuelan traffickers. Trump also ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers going to and from Venezuela, further tightening the economic screws.
Until this month’s strike, the U.S. limited hits to suspected trafficking boats in international waters—even as Trump repeatedly threatened strikes inside Venezuela itself. CNN reports Trump expanded CIA authorities earlier this year to conduct operations in Latin America, including inside Venezuela, while Pentagon rules constrained the military to sea targets only.
“Narcoterrorists” and a new drone war model
The administration has offered shifting rationales for its Venezuela campaign, from fighting drugs to forcing regime change. Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that the boat strikes were meant to make Maduro “cry uncle,” not just interdict cocaine. Maduro has shown no sign of stepping down.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has openly framed the effort in war‑on‑terror terms and signaled it will continue. At the Reagan National Defense Forum, he declared that “these narcoterrorists are the al Qaeda of our hemisphere,” adding, “we are hunting them with the same sophistication and precision that we hunted al Qaeda.” Officials have likewise told lawmakers they plan to keep using the drone‑centric playbook honed in the Middle East—where the CIA also played a central role—now repurposed for Latin America under Trump’s expanded covert action authority.
“So our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated Al-Qaeda. We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down and we will kill you.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issues stern warning to cartels smuggling drugs… pic.twitter.com/K7ZVhk5WHr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 23, 2025
One of CNN’s sources called the Venezuela dock strike a success because it demolished the facility and its boats, but also conceded it was “largely symbolic,” noting that traffickers use many other ports and that the blast drew little real‑time attention even inside Venezuela. That symbolism may be the point: a test of how far Trump can push clandestine warfare in the hemisphere under the banner of fighting “narcoterrorists,” with the CIA once again at the tip of the spear.
