WASHINGTON – A recent drone strike orchestrated by the CIA targeted a docking site purportedly utilized by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two individuals privy to the classified operation who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

This operation, the first direct assault on Venezuelan territory since the U.S. initiated strikes in September, represents a significant intensification of the U.S. administration’s ongoing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Venezuelan authorities have yet to acknowledge the strike.

President Donald Trump alluded to this operation during a Friday interview with John Catsimatidis on New York’s WABC radio, mentioning that the U.S. had taken down a “major facility where ships originate.”

Further elaborating during a conversation with reporters on Monday, as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump indicated the strike was aimed at a “dock area where they load the boats with drugs.” However, he refrained from specifying whether the strike was carried out by military forces or the CIA.

The CIA and White House representatives also chose not to provide additional commentary. The involvement of the CIA was first reported by CNN. Meanwhile, Col. Allie Weiskopf, spokesperson for Special Operations Command, which manages U.S. operations in the Caribbean, clarified in a statement that “Special Operations did not support this operation, including intel support.”

The strike escalates what began as a massive buildup of U.S. personnel in the Caribbean Sea starting in August, which has been followed by at least 30 U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. More recently, Trump has ordered a quasi-blockade aimed at seizing sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of 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.

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