CIA Conducts Drone Strike on Venezuelan Docking Facility Linked to Drug Trade, Sources Say

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Central Intelligence Agency was behind a drone strike carried out last week against a docking area in Venezuela that is believed to have been utilized by drug cartels, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Citing two individuals familiar with the details of the classified operation who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the report identifies the strike as a significant development in the United States’ ongoing pressure campaign against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

This operation represents the first known direct U.S. strike on Venezuelan soil since the administration initiated a campaign of kinetic actions in the region in September.

The move signals a marked escalation in Washington's strategy, shifting from interdiction efforts at sea to targeted operations within Venezuelan territory. While the strike has been confirmed by sources speaking to the AP, it has not been officially acknowledged by Venezuelan officials in Caracas.

President Trump first alluded to the operation during a radio interview on Friday with John Catsimatidis on WABC in New York.

During the broadcast, the President stated that the United States had neutralized what he described as a "big facility where ships come from." He expanded on these remarks on Monday while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. In an exchange with reporters, Trump characterized the target as a "dock area where they load the boats up with drugs."

Despite providing these details regarding the nature of the target, the President declined to specify which arm of the U.S. government was responsible for the attack when pressed on whether the operation was conducted by the military or the CIA.

Both the Central Intelligence Agency and the White House have declined to offer further comment on the matter.

However, the Department of Defense has explicitly distanced its special operations forces from the strike. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for Special Operations Command, which oversees U.S. operations in the Caribbean, issued a statement clarifying the military’s lack of involvement.

“Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support,” Col. Weiskopf said. This denial aligns with the information provided by the anonymous sources, who attributed the action to the intelligence agency rather than the armed forces. CNN was the first to report on the CIA’s involvement in the operation.

The use of the CIA for this strike may reflect a strategic calculation by the administration regarding congressional oversight. Under U.S. law, the administration is required to report covert CIA actions to senior congressional officials, specifically the chair and ranking members of the Senate and House intelligence committees.

By entrusting what appears to be the first land strike of the Venezuelan campaign to the CIA rather than the military, Trump may be operating under the assessment that such action would face a different level of scrutiny from lawmakers than a conventional military strike would entail.

Trump has publicly acknowledged authorizing the CIA to carry out covert actions inside Venezuela, a disclosure that is historically unusual for a sitting president. In October, he confirmed to reporters that he had approved the agency to act, citing two primary motivations. 

“I authorized for two reasons, really. No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” Trump said at the time. “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.”

The strike on the docking facility is the latest and most aggressive maneuver in a months-long buildup of American power in the region. The administration began a massive deployment of U.S. personnel to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Since September, this buildup has been followed by at least 30 U.S. military strikes targeting alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. In addition to these interdiction efforts, President Trump has more recently ordered a quasi-blockade aimed at seizing sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuelan waters.

For months, the President has threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets situated on Venezuelan land, a threat that appears to have materialized with last week’s drone operation. Throughout this period, Trump has repeatedly asserted that Maduro’s days in power are numbered.

The diplomatic and military pressure is compounded by legal actions taken within the United States. Since 2020, the Venezuelan leader and members of his inner circle have been under federal indictment in the U.S. for narcoterrorism and other charges.

Maduro has denied these charges. In a move to further isolate the Maduro government, the U.S. Justice Department this year doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest to $50 million.

Despite the high profile of the allegations and the U.S. strike, the Venezuelan government has maintained silence regarding the incident. On Tuesday, President Maduro delivered an hourlong speech at an international leadership school for women but made no mention of the CIA operation or the destruction of the docking facility.