This marks the first known direct operation on Venezuelan territory since the US initiated strikes in September, representing a notable intensification in the administration’s ongoing pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Venezuelan officials have not commented on the strike.
President Donald Trump mentioned the operation during an interview on Friday with John Catsimatidis on WABC radio in New York, stating that the US had taken out a “big facility where ships come from.”
In a dialogue with reporters on Monday while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump remarked that the operation focused on a “dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.” However, he refrained from disclosing whether the military or the CIA conducted the attack.
The CIA and White House representatives also chose not to comment further on the issue. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for Special Operations Command, which manages US operations in the Caribbean, stated in a release that “Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support.”
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This strike heightens what commenced as a substantial buildup of US personnel in the Caribbean Sea starting in August, leading to at least 30 US military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Recently, Trump has ordered a quasi-blockade aimed at intercepting sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
CNN was the first to report on the CIA’s role in the operation.
For several months, Trump has indicated that he might soon approve strikes on targets within Venezuela. He has also taken the rare step of publicly confirming that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside the country.
The administration is obligated to inform senior congressional officials about covert CIA actions, including the chair and ranking members of both the Senate and House intelligence committees. By assigning what seems to be the first ground strike in the Venezuelan campaign to the intelligence agency, Trump may be banking on the notion that this action will attract less scrutiny from lawmakers than a military operation.
“I authorized for two reasons, really. No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” he stated in October while confirming his approval for the CIA to take action. “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.”
Throughout this period, Trump has repeatedly asserted that Maduro’s time in power is limited. The Venezuelan leader and several members of his inner circle have faced federal indictment in the US since 2020 for narcoterrorism and other offenses.
Maduro has rejected these allegations. This year, the US Justice Department increased the reward for information leading to his arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
During an hourlong speech Tuesday at an international leadership school for women, the Venezuelan president did not reference the CIA operation.
