President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. forces carried out a strike on a Venezuelan coastal facility used to load boats with narcotics, a disclosure that signals a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro and appears to mark the first acknowledged U.S. land-based action inside Venezuela during Trump’s renewed confrontation with the government in Caracas.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said a “major explosion” hit a dock area where drugs were being transferred onto vessels for export. He said the strike destroyed both boats and the infrastructure used to move narcotics out of the country. “We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump said, adding that the site used to coordinate trafficking operations “is no longer around.”
The president declined to specify which U.S. agency carried out the operation or the precise location of the target. Asked directly whether the Central Intelligence Agency was responsible, Trump said only that he knew who conducted the strike but did not want to identify the unit involved.
CNN, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Monday that the CIA conducted a drone strike earlier this month against a remote port facility along Venezuela’s coast. According to CNN, U.S. intelligence assessed that the dock was being used by the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua to store narcotics and load them onto boats bound for international trafficking routes. Trump has previously said he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela.
Neither the CIA, the White House nor the Pentagon provided further details, declining to comment on questions from Reuters. The Venezuelan government also offered no immediate response, and there were no independent confirmations from inside the country of the strike Trump described.
Speculation surrounding Trump’s remarks had circulated online in recent days, particularly after a fire broke out at the Primazol chemical plant in Zulia state on Christmas Eve. Primazol said the blaze was accidental, was quickly extinguished and was under investigation, rejecting claims that it was linked to any U.S. action. Residents near the facility told Reuters they heard an explosion, saw flames and smelled chlorine, though the company denied any connection to U.S. operations.
The lack of official detail from U.S. national security agencies has fueled questions over whether the strike was conducted covertly, a status that would sharply limit public disclosures. Trump, however, has increasingly spoken openly about actions aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks linked to Venezuela, even as formal confirmations remain scarce.
Reuters reported last month that the Trump administration was preparing a new phase of operations tied to Venezuela as it intensified pressure on Maduro’s government. Two U.S. officials told Reuters at the time that covert actions were expected to be among the first steps in the expanded campaign.
U.S. operations have largely focused on maritime interdictions and strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. According to U.S. officials, more than 20 such strikes have killed at least 100 people, prompting close congressional oversight. Earlier this month, U.S. military leaders briefed lawmakers on a September incident in which an American strike killed 11 people, followed by a second strike ordered by Adm. Frank Bradley that killed survivors. Congressional Democrats have questioned whether the second attack complied with international law.
Trump’s remarks come as his administration oversees a substantial U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including more than 15,000 troops, a posture officials say is aimed at countering narcotics trafficking and deterring hostile actions by Maduro’s government. Critics warn the strategy risks deeper entanglement in Venezuela’s internal crisis, while supporters argue aggressive action is necessary to disrupt transnational criminal networks that fuel regional instability.
By publicly describing the strike, Trump has signaled a willingness to blur the line between covert action and overt policy, underscoring how counternarcotics operations have become a central pillar of his Venezuela strategy. Whether the attack marks a one-off operation or the beginning of a broader campaign inside Venezuelan territory remains unclear, but analysts say it raises the stakes in an already volatile standoff between Washington and Caracas.
Reuters
