Trump Says U.S. Struck Venezuela Drug-Loading Pier as Media Identify CIA Drone Operation

Overview

• Trump told reporters the United States destroyed a dock area used to load boats with narcotics along Venezuela’s coast, giving no specifics on timing or location.
• CNN and the New York Times, citing U.S. officials, report the operation was a CIA drone strike on a port facility linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, with no one present and no casualties.
• The Pentagon, the CIA, and the White House have not formally confirmed the strike, and Trump declined to identify which agency carried it out.
• Separately, U.S. Southern Command said a Dec. 29 lethal strike on a Pacific vessel killed two suspected narcotraffickers, as cumulative deaths from maritime actions since September surpassed 100.
• Venezuela has not acknowledged any attack; Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro alleged a factory near Maracaibo was bombed, a claim not corroborated by Washington or the company, while Maduro announced the shootdown of nine suspect aircraft near the Brazilian and Colombian borders.