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, a U.S. drone strike targeted a remote dock in Venezuela, believed to be a key point for the Tren de Aragua gang’s drug shipments. According to unnamed officials speaking to CNN, there were no casualties resulting from the attack.

CNN reports that the strike obliterated a dock along Venezuela’s coastline, which U.S. authorities allege was a hub for storing drugs and loading them onto boats for exportation. Sources indicated that no personnel were present at the time of the strike. Additionally, two sources mentioned that U.S. Special Operations Forces provided intelligence support for the mission, although Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command, denied this claim, stating unequivocally, “Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support.”

In a December 26 interview, former President Trump seemed to confirm the strike, boasting about dismantling a “big facility where ships come from,” as part of his broader strategy against Venezuela. When questioned again on the matter, he elaborated that the strike targeted the dock area used for drug shipments but did not specify whether the CIA or military forces executed the operation. “So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump remarked to reporters, describing it as the main staging area, which he claimed was now out of commission.

The CIA opted not to comment on the operation, which CNN suggests could significantly heighten tensions with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is already under intense pressure from a U.S. campaign aimed at weakening his regime. Prior to this incident, the U.S. had demolished over 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in what officials called a counter-narcotics initiative targeting vessels associated with Venezuelan traffickers. In addition, Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela, further intensifying economic pressure.

Until this recent strike, U.S. operations were confined to suspected trafficking boats in international waters. Despite Trump’s repeated threats of striking within Venezuela, it was not until earlier this year that he expanded CIA powers to conduct operations throughout Latin America, including inside Venezuela. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s directives restricted the military to targeting sea-based threats only.

— TabZ (@TabZLIVE) December 28, 2025

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.