First Direct US Attack on Venezuelan Territory

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to CNN, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted a covert drone strike on a port facility off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month, in what the sources said was the first known direct US military action against a target inside Venezuela.

The CIA drones targeted a remote port on the Venezuelan coast that the US government says was being used by the Tren de Aragua criminal gang to store drugs and transfer them to boats for maritime smuggling.

No one was present at the time of the attack, the sources said, and no casualties were reported.

Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that US Special Operations Forces (SOF) played an intelligence-support role in the operation, indicating a continued covert presence in the region.

However, Colonel Allie Weiskopf, a spokesman for the US Special Operations Command, denied the claim, saying: “Special Operations forces did not provide any support for this operation, including intelligence support.”

US President Donald Trump alluded to the attack in an interview last week, a statement that initially drew little attention.

In an interview on December 26, Trump said the US had destroyed a “major facility where ships were leaving.” He added on Monday: “We hit a dock area where boats were loading drugs… It’s no longer there.”

Trump declined to say whether the attack was carried out by the military or the CIA.

The attack could seriously escalate tensions between Washington and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The United States has stepped up pressure to force Maduro to step down in recent months and has launched an aggressive military and security campaign in the Caribbean.

The United States has so far targeted and destroyed more than 30 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in what it calls a “war on drugs.” Trump has also ordered a blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers entering or leaving the country.

How this attack differs from previous operations

Until now, all known U.S. strikes on Venezuelan targets have been limited to boats suspected of drug trafficking in international waters.

According to CNN, the U.S. military is legally only authorized to conduct naval strikes against smugglers and does not have the authority to strike land targets in Venezuela, an authority that has apparently now been exercised within the framework of CIA missions.

CNN previously reported that the Trump administration has expanded the CIA's authority to conduct operations in Latin America this year, including inside Venezuela. The drone strike is the first practical sign that the CIA is using these new powers.

While the strike was an operational success, destroying facilities and boats, its significance was largely symbolic, as the port was just one of dozens of routes used by drug traffickers in Venezuela, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The source also stressed that the attack did not receive much media coverage or reaction, even inside Venezuela, at the time.

While US officials have emphasized the "counternarcotics" aspect of the operation, statements by Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, have revealed a different goal. She has said that the US naval strikes are aimed at forcing Maduro to surrender; A goal that has not yet been achieved, and Maduro has shown no signs of stepping down from power.