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AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading.The administration provided no details of what the president said was an attack last week linked to U.S. efforts to disrupt drug trafficking from Latin America.Such an attack would be the first on land since President Trump began his military campaign against Venezuela.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York TimesDec. 28, 2025President Trump said in a radio interview that the United States had knocked out “a big facility” last week as part of his administration’s campaign against Venezuela, an apparent reference to an American attack on a drug trafficking site.American officials said that Mr. Trump was referring to a drug facility in Venezuela and that it was eliminated, but provided no details. Military officials said they had no information to share, and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment. The White House declined to comment.Mr. Trump made his statement on Friday during an interview with John Catsimatidis, the Republican billionaire and supporter of the president who owns the WABC radio station in New York. The two men were discussing the U.S. military campaign to disrupt drug trafficking from Latin America by striking boats suspected of carrying narcotics.“They have a big plant or a big facility where the ships come from,” Mr. Trump said, without saying where it was or explicitly identifying Venezuela as the target. “Two nights ago we knocked that out.”If Mr. Trump’s suggestion that the United States had struck a site in the region proves accurate, it would be the first known attack on land since he began his military campaign against Venezuela. U.S. officials declined to specify anything about the site the president said was hit, where it was located, how the attack was carried out or what role the facility played in drug trafficking. There has been no public report of an attack from the Venezuelan government or any other authorities in the region.While some officials called the facility struck a drug production site, it is not clear what role in narcotics trafficking the facility would have played. Venezuela is well known for its role in trafficking drugs, especially cocaine produced in Colombia, but has not been a major producer of narcotics.Mr. Trump has been promising strikes on land in Venezuela for weeks, part of an intensifying pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, who is under indictment in the United States for his role in the drug trade.Mr. Trump authorized the C.I.A. to begin planning covert operations inside Venezuela months ago.The United States has been conducting military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since September. The administration maintains that the vessels are transporting cocaine. The operations have killed at least 105 people so far, and have been called extrajudicial killings by critics who say the U.S. military has no legal basis for lethal strikes against civilians. The administration has defended the attacks by asserting that the United States is in a conflict with what it calls narco-terrorists who can only be stopped with military force.Those boat strikes were originally developed as part of a two-phase operation. The second phase, which has yet to be officially announced, was to include strikes on drug facilities in Venezuela, people familiar with the planning have said.Since beginning the strikes, Mr. Trump has announced what he has called a blockade of Venezuela as the United States has begun trying to intercept oil tankers, cutting off a vital source of income for the Maduro government.Mr. Trump has publicly acknowledged he has authorized the C.I.A. to plan for operations inside Venezuela.Exactly what operations Mr. Trump had in mind for the C.I.A. were not clear, but they could include both sabotage operations and psychological operations meant to prod Mr. Maduro into making some mistake.Eric Schmitt, Edward Wong and Maria Abi-Habib contributed reporting.Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.Related ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTShared with you by a Times subscriberYou have access to this article thanks to someone you know. Keep exploring The Times with a free account.

BREAKING: The United States has just conducted its FIRST land strike against Venezuela, President Trump confirms The military took out a drug facility, resulting in a “massive explosion” Things are really heating up.

The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, marking the first known US attack on a target inside that country. The drone strike, the details of which have not been previously reported, targeted a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast that the US government believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping, the sources said. No one was present at the facility at the time it was struck, so there were no casualties, according to the sources. Two sources said US Special Operations Forces provided intelligence support to the operation, underscoring their continued involvement in the region. But Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for US Special Operations Command, denied that, saying, “Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support.” President Donald Trump appeared to first acknowledge the attack in an interview last week that initially attracted little notice, though he offered few specifics, including when reporters asked directly about it on Monday. Hear Trump acknowledge strike on port on Venezuelan coast 3:03 • Source: CNN Hear Trump acknowledge strike on port on Venezuelan coast 3:03 The strike could significantly escalate tensions between the US and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who the US has been pressuring to step down through an aggressive military campaign. The US has launched strikes destroying more than 30 boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in what it has described as a counter-narcotics campaign, and Trump has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers coming to and leaving Venezuela. Trump had also repeatedly threatened to carry out strikes inside Venezuela, but until the CIA attack earlier this month, the only known US strikes on Venezuelan targets were against the suspected drug-trafficking boats in international waters. The CIA declined to comment. CNN has asked the White House, US Special Operations Command, and Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. Trump acknowledged in an interview on Friday that the US had knocked out some type of “big facility where ships come from” as he talked about his administration’s campaign against Venezuela. Asked about it again on Monday, he said the US attacked “in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.” But he declined to comment when asked whether the attack was conducted by the military or the CIA. “So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump said Monday. “It’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement, and that is no longer around.” One of the sources said the strike was successful in that it destroyed the facility and its boats, but described it as largely symbolic since it is just one of many port facilities used by drug traffickers leaving Venezuela. It also appeared to attract little to no attention, even inside the country, in real time. Trump earlier this year expanded the CIA’s authorities to conduct operations in Latin America, including inside Venezuela, CNN previously reported. But even then, the US military had the legal authority only to conduct strikes against suspected traffickers at sea, not on land, as CNN has reported. The Trump administration has offered varying justifications for the campaign in Venezuela, which has involved a massive buildup of military assets in the Caribbean. Officials have pointed to a counter-narcotics imperative, but Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, told Vanity Fair in an interview that the boat strikes were aimed at getting Maduro to “cry uncle.” The Venezuelan leader has shown no signs of relinquishing power. Top officials have made clear publicly and in briefings to lawmakers that they intend to continue targeting suspected drug smugglers using a similar playbook to the one used for killing terrorists during the global war on terror – a campaign in which the CIA played a crucial role, too. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has openly compared drug traffickers to al Qaeda. “These narcoterrorists are the al Qaeda of our hemisphere,” the secretary said at the Reagan National Defense Forum earlier this month. “And we are hunting them with the same sophistication and precision that we hunted al Qaeda.” This story has been updated with additional information from US Special Operations Command. CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this report.

The C.I.A. conducted a drone strike last week in Venezuela, the first known U.S. operation inside the country since the Trump administration began its pressure campaign against the government of Nicolás Maduro. President Trump had mentioned the attack twice in recent days without disclosing that the spy agency was behind it. U.S. officials said the target was a dock believed to be where Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, was storing narcotics and potentially preparing to move the drugs onto boats, according to people briefed on the mission. “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Monday at Mar-a-Lago, his club and residence in Florida. “They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement, and that is no longer around.” Here’s what we know about the situation. It was the first known land strike by the United States. Mr. Trump had been warning for weeks that he was prepared to expand his pressure campaign with land strikes, but the attack last week was the first known strike inside Venezuela. The attack became public only after Mr. Trump mentioned it during a radio interview on Friday. He said that it had taken place two days earlier and that the United States had knocked out “a big facility.” The Venezuelan government has not commented directly on the strike or Mr. Trump’s remarks. But Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, denounced months of “imperial madness” and “harassment, threats, attacks, persecution, robberies, piracy and murders.” Trump had authorized covert action. The C.I.A. has played a substantial role in preparing the administration’s campaign against Venezuela, and earlier this year, Mr. Trump authorized C.I.A. operations in Venezuela and ordered the agency to plan for a variety of missions. The agency is not known to have conducted strikes against foreign targets recently, leaving operations to the U.S. military. But during the Bush and Obama administrations, the C.I.A. regularly conducted drone strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere. It is not clear if the drone used in the mission was owned by the C.I.A. or borrowed from the U.S. military. Military officials have declined to comment. The Pentagon has stationed several MQ-9 Reaper drones, which carry Hellfire missiles, at bases in Puerto Rico as part of the pressure campaign. But the C.I.A. has a long, and often sordid, history of intervening in Latin America, with coups, assassination plots and the contra fight against Nicaragua’s leftist government in the 1980s. The strike is part of a broader pressure campaign. The strike suggests a new phase in Mr. Trump’s campaign against the Maduro government after his administration has spent months building up a heavy military presence in the Caribbean. What began as a counternarcotics campaign has evolved into a broader mission to cripple Mr. Maduro and secure access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves for U.S. companies. Until now, the United States has been pressuring Venezuela by conducting military strikes on boats it suspects of trafficking drugs and seizing oil tankers. Those operations have taken place in international waters, but many legal experts say the strikes on the boats are unlawful. Officials have signaled that they intend to continue targeting tanker traffic after Mr. Trump ordered a “complete blockade” on oil tankers that are under sanctions going to and from Venezuela. Editors’ Picks Dragons, Sex and the Bible: What Drove the Book Business This Year 7 Easy Ways to Make the Most Satisfying Tofu of Your Life Dark, Twisty New Psychological Thrillers “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media this month. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.” The next steps are unclear. Mr. Trump has signaled that he plans to continue to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Maduro, as the president and his advisers have made clear they do not think he should be in power. But Mr. Maduro has shown no signs of stepping away voluntarily, and so what the Trump administration does next is unclear. One potential challenge for the administration is the cost of keeping the massive military presence in the Caribbean. The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford was redirected to the Caribbean in October, and if the Pentagon extends its deployment it would delay crucial maintenance for the Ford and strain the crew’s morale. The crew is entering its seventh month at sea, and peacetime deployments typically do not go beyond six months. Keeping not only the Ford strike group near Venezuela, but also an expeditionary strike group in the same region built around the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, is an extraordinary amount of conventional naval firepower for what began as an unconventional counternarcotics mission. Finally, Mr. Trump and his aides have said very little about what would happen if Mr. Maduro was removed from power.

President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/AP hide caption toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP WASHINGTON — The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. The first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September marks a significant escalation in the administration's months-long pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government. The strike has not been acknowledged by Venezuelan officials. President Donald Trump first made reference to the operation in an interview Friday with John Catsimatidis on WABC radio in New York, saying the U.S. had knocked out some type of "big facility where ships come from." In an exchange with reporters Monday as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump added that the operation targeted a " dock area where they load the boats up with drugs." But the president declined to comment when asked whether the attack was conducted by the military or the CIA. The CIA and White House officials also declined to offer further comment on the matter. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for Special Operations Command, which oversees U.S operations in the Caribbean, said in a statement that "Special Operations did not support this operation to include 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. CNN first reported on the CIA's involvement in the operation. 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. The administration is required to report covert CIA actions to senior congressional officials, including the chair and ranking members of both the Senate and House intelligence committees. But Trump, by entrusting what appears to be the first land strike of the Venezuelan campaign to the intelligence agency, could be calculating that the action would face less scrutiny from lawmakers than a military strike. "I authorized for two reasons, really. 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. — AP writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed reporting.

World Jan 2, 2026 11:35 AM EST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, the South American country's President Nicolás Maduro said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday on state television, but he declined to comment on a CIA-led strike last week at a Venezuelan docking area that the Trump administration believed was used by cartels. Maduro, in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, reiterated that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August. "What are they seeking? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force," Maduro said, later adding that it is time for both nations to "start talking seriously, with data in hand." "The U.S. government knows, because we've told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we're ready," he said. "If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it." Chevron Corp. is the only major oil company exporting Venezuelan crude to the U.S. Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves. Watch the segment in the player above. The interview was taped on New Year's Eve, the same day the U.S. military announced strikes against five alleged drug-smuggling boats. The latest attacks bring the total number of known boat strikes to 35 and the number of people killed to at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. Venezuelans are among the victims. READ MORE: All the U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels. The strikes began off Venezuela's Caribbean coast and later expanded to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. It was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the boat strikes began, a significant escalation in the administration's pressure campaign on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. Asked about the operation on Venezuelan soil, Maduro said he could "talk about it in a few days." Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Left: Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores attend a year-end salutation to military forces Sunday in La Guaira, Venezuela December 28, 2025. Photo provided by Miraflores Palace via Reuters

It is rare that a U.S. president would announce covert action publicly. But that is what President Trump did Monday when he acknowledged a strike on a port facility in Venezuela. Media outlets reported it was the CIA that launched the drone strike. It comes as the administration is targeting not only drug smugglers, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro himself. Nick Schifrin reports.Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Nick Schifrin: Welcome to the "News Hour."It is exceedingly rare that a U.S. president would announce covert action publicly, but that is what President Trump did yesterday when he acknowledged a strike on a port facility in Venezuela. And, today, media outlets reported it was the CIA that launched the drone strike on an alleged drug facility.It comes as the Trump administration is targeting not only drug smugglers across the region, but also Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro himself.For months, the U.S. has built up the Caribbean's largest armada in half-a-century, 30 strikes on what the U.S. calls narco-terrorist drug boats, the latest in the Eastern Pacific just last night, the capture of two sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers and the chasing of a third tanker that today reportedly requested Russian protection.And, today, news the CIA reportedly launched a drone strike along the Venezuelan coast, the reported target, a storage facility operated by the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration connects, without public evidence, to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats. And now we hit the area. It's the implementation area. That's where they implement. And that is no longer around.Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations: If the amount of drug trafficking comes down significantly in the Caribbean, and I think it must, the regime is going to have a lot less money to throw around. Nick Schifrin: Elliott Abrams was the first Trump administration's special envoy for Venezuela and is today a senior fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations. He supports the pressure campaign that is targeting Venezuela's chief source of revenue as a way to weaken Maduro's grip on power and force him to step down. Elliott Abrams: The economy of Venezuela will get worse and the finances of the Maduro regime will get worse and that will increase public pressure and internal pressure in the regime, that at some point there are either mass demonstrations or somebody in the military acts or the regime basically decides, we don't know how far Trump is willing to go with this. Let's make a deal now. Nick Schifrin: But the administration's critics argue the pressure campaign's tactics are illegal and its goals are imperialist.Daniel Hellinger, Professor Emeritus of International Relations Webster University: It's straightforward territorial intervention. It's the kind of thing that was characteristic of the United States in the Caribbean region back in the beginnings of the 20th century. Nick Schifrin: Daniel Hellinger is a Webster University professor emeritus who says Maduro is not the threat that the U.S. alleges. Daniel Hellinger: I don't think he's sort of the kingpin that they're trying to portray him to be. Venezuela does not traffic in fentanyl to any significant degree and that most of what comes out of Venezuela is more likely to be marijuana or cocaine, and even that doesn't even come towards the United States. Nick Schifrin: Maduro himself this week has been trying to laugh or sing past the pressure in between boasts and bravado. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan President (through interpreter): Our military have a glorious history as emancipating humanist invincible warriors. Today, our armed forces are more prepared than ever to continue winning peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity for our people. Nick Schifrin: And opponents of the Trump administration's policy predict that, if Maduro is ousted, there will be chaos. Daniel Hellinger: Venezuela is a heavily armed society in the civilian sector. There are going to be parts of the Venezuelan military that will retreat into guerrilla warfare. And there's just a very dense population in Caracas, where crime is a serious problem, and there's lots of lots of firearms around. So it'll get messy. Elliott Abrams: The warnings that there will be civil war in Venezuela and massive amounts of violence I think are wrong, that, if Maduro falls, Edmundo Gonzalez, who was elected last year, will become president. And the opposition is planning for that right now and planning for what a democratic transition will look like.As long as the Maduro regime is there, we are not going to get its cooperation in reducing drug trafficking. You're going to see the continuing flow of migrants, eight million down, and there's no reason that it can't go to nine or 10 or 12 million over the coming years. And you're going to see continuing cooperation between the regime and Cuba, Iran, Russia, China. Nick Schifrin: Maduro has not acknowledged the alleged CIA strike, perhaps to avoid further escalation, but more confrontation is coming, as the U.S. is promising more pressure.

Fernando Coca Published: Dec 29 at 1:46 PM, 2025 - Last Updated: Dec 29 at 2:40 PM, 2025 US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday the first military action on Venezuelan soil amidst ongoing pressure against Nicolás Maduro. Prior to his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Republican stated that a dock where boats carrying drugs were loaded had been attacked. “There was a big explosion in the dock area where they load the boats with drugs,” he said in response to a reporter's question. When asked if this would be the only attack on Venezuelan soil, the president declined to comment further. In response to questions from other reporters, the Republican justified the attack by claiming that the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela has smuggled thousands of criminals and thousands of drugs into the United States. He asserted that the attacks on boats in recent months have stopped 97% of the drugs entering the country by sea. “With every boat we sink, we save 25,000 American lives,” he stated. The attack was announced by the president on Friday in an interview with John Catsimatidis, where he only mentioned that there was a large facility where the boats departed and “two nights ago we took it down.” However, the Venezuelan government has not yet commented on the matter. Photo: Social Network X Follow the Político MX channel on WhatsApp. Trump seeks to remove Maduro. The military mobilization, far from being an action against drug trafficking, has been seen as a pressure strategy by Trump to force the Venezuelan president to step down. Recently, Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, suggested to Vanity Fair that the deployment and attacks were truly aimed at regime change in the country. “He wants to keep bombing ships until Maduro starts crying,” The New York Times reported. In response to these actions, the Venezuelan government appealed to the UN to formally denounce what it called an “escalation of threats” that jeopardizes peace in the region.

Fernando CocaPublicada: dic 29 a las 13:46, 2025- Últ. Actualización: dic 29 a las 14:40, 2025El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, confirmó este lunes la primera acción en territorio venezolano en medio de las presiones militares contra Nicolás Maduro.Previo a su reunión con el primer ministro de Israel, Benjamín Netanyahu, el republicano aseguró que atacaron un muelle donde se cargaban botes con droga.“Hubo una gran explosión en la zona del muelle donde cargan los botes con drogas”, señaló a una pregunta de un periodista. Sobre si sería el único ataque en territorio venezolano, el presidente prefirió no comentar más.Ante las preguntas de otros reporteros, el republicano justificó el ataque asegurando que el Tren de Aragua desde Venezuela ha ingresado miles de delincuentes a los Estados Unidos y miles de drogas. Por lo que con los ataques a lanchas en meses recientes han detenido el acceso del 97% de drogas ingresadas por mar. “Con cada bote que derribamos salvamos 25 mil vidas de americanos”, señaló.El ataque fue anunciado por el mandatario desde el viernes en una entrevista con John Catsimatidis donde solo señaló que había una gran planta en la que salían los barcos y “hace dos noches la eliminamos”. Sin embargo, el tema aún no ha sido comentado por el gobierno venezolano.Foto: Red social XSigue el canal de Político MX en WhatsAppTrump buscaría quitar a MaduroLa movilización militar, lejos de una acción en contra del narcotráfico, ha sido vista como una estrategia de presión por parte de Trump para que el presidente venezolano deje su cargo.Recientemente la jefa de gabinete de Trump, Susie Wiles sugirió a Vanity Fair que el despliegue y ataques tendrían como verdadero objetivo el cambio de régimen en el territorio. “Quiere seguir bombardeando barcos hasta que Maduro se ponga a llorar”, indicó el medio The New York Times.Ante estas acciones, el gobierno de Venezuela acudió a la ONU para denunciar formalmente lo que calificó como una “escalada de amenazas” que pone en riesgo la paz de la región.

The United States has launched a new phase of military operations in its offensive against Venezuela to achieve its two objectives: to intensify the war on drugs and to oust President Nicolás Maduro. Following the US military's bombing of some 30 suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, which left more than 100 people dead, and the interception of two oil tankers, President Donald Trump has confirmed the first ground operation in Venezuela. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) attack on a dock at a port facility on the Venezuelan coast—the first US ground attack in the Caribbean nation—is part of this new strategy. Many details of the operation, which was carried out using drones, remain unknown. US authorities suspected that the drug cartel known as Tren de Aragua was using the infrastructure to store drugs and transport them via other vessels, according to CNN, which cited sources familiar with the matter. The drone attack was swift and caused no casualties, as it occurred when no one was in the vicinity of the facility. Many questions remain unanswered. The lack of information and details is striking. The exact location of the attack, the time, and the number of personnel involved are unknown, beyond the fact that several drones were used. It is also unclear whether the CIA had military support. Colonel Allie Weiskopf, spokesperson for the special operations command, denied the military's involvement in the ground attack in Venezuela, despite speculation about intelligence support. Covert operations backed by the CIA are at the top of the list of options being considered by the White House as part of Trump's renewed escalation against Maduro, according to two senior US officials who spoke to Reuters. The Republican magnate confirmed this first ground attack in Venezuela during an interview last Friday with John Catsimatidis, owner of the conservative New York radio station WABC. Catsimatidis, a billionaire owner of a Manhattan supermarket chain, didn't grasp the implications of Trump's words when he asked him about the US military campaign in Venezuela: "They have a big plant or a big facility from which the boats leave. Two nights ago we took it out," he remarked. Social media picked up on the president's message. It went viral, and on Monday, journalists asked him about the attack during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit: "There was a big explosion in the dock area where they load the boats with drugs. We already went after those boats, and now we've attacked the area, so that area of operations no longer exists," the Republican responded. Trump avoided confirming whether the military was involved. "I don't want to say that," he said. "I know exactly who did it, but I don't want to say. But you know, it was along the coast," he added, in comments that only amplified the doubts and questions surrounding the operation. Neither the CIA, nor the White House, nor the Pentagon have offered explanations. The Venezuelan government has also remained silent. Senior officials in Washington have asserted, both in briefings with legislators and in public statements, that the United States intends to continue targeting suspected drug traffickers using a strategy similar to that employed in the war against Al Qaeda terrorism in the last decade. The CIA played a crucial role during that campaign. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has openly compared drug traffickers to Al Qaeda. Third Phase In any case, the ground operation on a dock in Venezuela represents the first step in the third phase of Washington's pressure on Caracas, with which Trump aims to intensify pressure on Maduro. The US maneuver began after Trump's victory in the November elections last year. At that time, he began linking Maduro to drug trafficking and labeled Venezuela a narco-state. He designated the so-called Cartel of the Suns, an alleged drug trafficking group, as a terrorist organization and has identified the Venezuelan president as the head of this drug trafficking network. A couple of months ago, he launched Operation Southern Spear in his fight against drug trafficking. He began concentrating a large military contingent in the region and deployed his largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Caribbean Sea. He has amassed the largest military deployment in decades near Venezuela, with more than 14,000 troops and a fleet of warships. In September, he began launching attacks against alleged drug-running boats sailing in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. Since then, the US has bombed more than 30 drug-trafficking boats, killing 107 people, without congressional approval or judicial authorization. These operations have been shrouded in controversy after it was revealed a few weeks ago that two people survived one of the attacks carried out by the US military in early September against a vessel allegedly transporting drugs. Published reports claim that Admiral Frank Bradley ordered a second attack to kill the survivors, following orders from the Secretary of Defense. If the accusations are confirmed, they could be considered war crimes. The incident is being investigated by bipartisan committees in both houses of Congress. The second phase of the strategy to intensify pressure on Maduro was the interception and seizure of the cargo of two oil tankers in Caribbean waters. The action, led by the US Coast Guard, occurred after Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” on all oil tankers sanctioned by Washington entering and leaving the South American country. The operation fuels the theory of US interest in Venezuelan oil. The Caribbean nation possesses the world's largest crude oil reserves, but its oil industry is inefficient after years of underinvestment and the withdrawal of international companies with the capacity to do so. Analysts had been expecting a military intervention against ground targets in Venezuela for weeks. Trump revealed a few weeks ago that he had everything ready to launch it. In early December, after a meeting with his cabinet, he asserted: “We'll start with ground attacks. It'll be much easier that way. We know where they are, what routes they take.” He explained that the objective was “to take out those sons of bitches,” referring to drug traffickers.

Estados Unidos ha abierto una nueva fase de operaciones militares en su ofensiva contra Venezuela para conseguir sus dos objetivos: impulsar la guerra contra el narcotráfico y deponer al presidente Nicolás Maduro. Tras el bombardeo por parte del ejército estadounidense de una treintena de supuestas narcolanchas en aguas del Caribe y del Pacífico, que han dejado más de un centenar de personas asesinadas, y la intercepción de dos petroleros, el presidente Donald Trump ha confirmado la primera operación terrestre en Venezuela. El ataque de la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) contra un muelle de una instalación portuaria en la costa de Venezuela, el primer ataque terrestre de Estados Unidos en el país caribeño, forma parte de esa nueva estrategia. La operación, de la que aún se desconocen muchos detalles, fue ejecutada con drones. Las autoridades estadounidenses sospechaban que el cartel narcotraficante conocido como Tren de Aragua utilizaba la infraestructura para almacenar drogas y transportarlas a través de otras embarcaciones, según ha detallado la cadena CNN, que cita fuentes familiarizadas con el asunto. El ataque con drones fue rápido y no dejó víctimas, ya que se produjo cuando no había personas en las inmediaciones de la instalación. Muchas incógnitas Llama la atención la falta de información y detalles. Se desconoce el lugar exacto del ataque, la hora y el contingente empleado, más allá de que se utilizaron varios drones. Tampoco está claro si la CIA tuvo apoyo del ejército. Allie Weiskopf, la coronel portavoz del comando de operaciones especiales, negó la participación de este grupo militar en el ataque sobre el terreno en Venezuela pese a especularse con el apoyo con labores de inteligencia.Las operaciones encubiertas con el respaldo de la CIA figuran en lo alto del abanico de opciones manejadas por la Casa Blanca como parte de la nueva escalada de Trump contra Maduro, según explicaron dos altos cargos estadounidenses a Reuters.El magnate republicano confirmó este primer ataque sobre el terreno en Venezuela durante una entrevista realizada el pasado viernes con John Catsimatidis, propietario de la emisora de radio neoyorquina WABC, de línea conservadora. Catsimatidis, multimillonario dueño de una cadena de supermercados en Manhattan, no se percató del alcance de las palabras de Trump cuando le preguntaba sobre la campaña militar que Estados Unidos ha lanzado en Venezuela: “Tienen una gran planta o una gran instalación desde la que salen los barcos. Hace dos noches la eliminamos”, deslizó.Las redes sociales captaron el mensaje del presidente. Se viralizó y este lunes los periodistas le preguntaron sobre el ataque durante la visita del primer ministro de Israel, Benjamín Netanyahu: “Hubo una gran explosión en la zona del muelle donde cargan las lanchas con drogas. Ya fuimos a por esas lanchas, y ahora hemos atacado la zona, de manera que esa área de operaciones ya no existe”, respondió el republicano.Trump evitó confirmar si el ejército estuvo implicado. “No quiero decir eso”, dijo. “Sé exactamente quién lo hizo, pero no quiero decirlo. Pero ya sabes, fue a lo largo de la costa”, abundó, en unos comentarios que agrandaban las dudas y preguntas que rodean a la operación. Ni la CIA, ni la Casa Blanca, ni el Pentágono han ofrecido explicaciones. El Gobierno venezolano tampoco se ha pronunciado.Altos funcionarios de Washington han asegurado tanto en sesiones informativas con legisladores como en declaraciones públicas que Estados Unidos tiene la intención de seguir atacando a presuntos narcotraficantes mediante una estrategia similar a la empleada en la guerra contra el terrorismo de Al Qaeda de la década pasada. La CIA desempeñó un papel crucial durante esa campaña. El secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, ha comparado abiertamente a los narcotraficantes con Al Qaeda.Tercera fase En cualquier caso, la operación terrestre sobre un muelle en Venezuela supone el primer paso de la tercera fase de presión de Washington sobre Caracas con el que Trump quiere intensificar la presión sobre Maduro.La maniobra estadounidense comenzó tras la victoria de Trump en las elecciones de noviembre del año pasado. Entonces, empezó a vincular a Maduro con el narcotráfico y calificó a Venezuela como un narcoestado. Designó al llamado Cartel de los Soles, un supuesto grupo narcotraficante, como organización terrorista y ha situado al mandatario venezolano como cabecilla de esta red de narcotráfico.Hace un par de meses lanzó la operación militar Lanza del Sur en su lucha contra el narcotráfico. Empezó a concentrar un gran contingente militar en la región y desplazó a su mayor portaviones, el USS Gerald R. Ford a aguas del mar Caribe. Ha concentrado cerca de Venezuela al mayor despliegue militar en décadas con más de 14.000 militares y una flota de barcos de guerra. En septiembre, empezó a lanzar ataques contra supuestas narcolanchas que surcaban aguas del mar Caribe junto a Venezuela. Desde entonces, ha bombardeado, sin aval del Congreso ni autorización judicial, a más de una treintena de narcolanchas en las que han resultado asesinadas 107 personas.Estas operaciones están envueltas de polémica tras conocerse hace unas semanas que en uno de los ataques realizados por el ejército estadounidense a principio de septiembre contra una embarcación que supuestamente transportaba droga quedaron dos supervivientes. Las informaciones publicadas aseguran que el almirante Frank Bradley ordenó un segundo ataque para matar a los supervivientes, siguiendo órdenes del secretario de Defensa. De confirmarse las acusaciones podría considerarse como crímenes de guerra. El suceso está siendo investigado por comisiones bipartidistas en las dos cámaras del Congreso.La segunda fase de la estrategia para intensificar la presión sobre Maduro fue la intercepción e incautación de la carga de dos petroleros en aguas del Caribe. La acción, dirigida por la Guardia Costera estadounidense, se produjo después de que Trump anunciara un “bloqueo total y completo” para todos los petroleros sancionados por Washington que entran y salen del país sudamericano. La operación alimenta la teoría del interés de Estados Unidos en el petróleo de Venezuela. El país caribeño posee las mayores reservas mundiales de crudo, pero tiene una industria petrolera ineficiente tras años sin invertir y tras la retirada de las compañías internacionales con capacidad para hacerlo.Los analistas llevaban semanas esperando una intervención militar contra objetivos terrestres en Venezuela. Trump desveló hace unas semanas que tenía todo preparado para iniciarla. A principios de diciembre, tras una reunión con su gabinete, aseguró: “Empezaremos con los ataques por tierra. Será mucho más fácil así. Sabemos dónde están, qué rutas cogen”. Y explicó que el objetivo era “acabar con esos hijos de perra”, en referencia a los narcotraficantes.

Direct attack against Venezuela US drones from the CIA attacked the South American country, as reported by its president, Donald Trump. According to Trump, a pier used by organized crime was destroyed. @viridianahelo reports on #PrimeraLínea.

Ataque directo contra Venezuela Drones estadounidenses de la CIA atacaron al país sudamericano, así lo notificó su mandatario Donald Trump. De acuerdo con Trump, se destruyó un muelle utilizado por el crimen organizado. @viridianahelo nos cuenta en #PrimeraLínea.

The United States has confirmed that ground attacks on Venezuela have begun. Maduro is terrified, and now he doesn't know where to hide and is completely unresponsive to the attacks.

ESTADOS UNIDOS CONFIRMÓ QUE YA ARRANCARON LOS ATAQUES TERRESTRES A VENEZUELA Maduro está CAGADO HASTA LAS PATAS, y ahora no sabe dónde esconderse y directamente NO ESTÁ NI REACCIONANDO frente a los ataques

The US carried out its first ground attack in Venezuela as part of its military campaign against President Nicolás Maduro; the location is allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, according to Trump. Details with @SamuelCuervo on #MilenioDelMediodía

EU realizó el primer ataque terrestre en Venezuela como parte de su campaña militar en contra del presidente Nicolás Maduro; el lugar estaría ligado a 'El Tren de Aragua' según Trump Los detalles con @SamuelCuervo en #MILENIODelMediodía

BREAKING NEWS VENEZUELA! URGENT — LATEST! Telemundo images from the Upper Guajira region show destroyed fragments consistent with those of a Hellfire missile. This new indication suggests that a US attack took place in northwestern Venezuela.

¡ÚLTIMA HORA VENEZUELA! URGENTE — ¡LO ÚLTIMO! Imágenes de Telemundo desde la Alta Guajira muestran fragmentos destruidos coinciden con las de un Hellfire. Este nuevo indicador sugiere que un ataque de Estados Unidos tuvo lugar al noroeste de Venezuela.

A firsthand account of an explosion along the Venezuelan coast on Dec. 18 is raising questions about who may have been responsible for the attack and whether it was connected to the U.S.’ escalating pressure campaign against the South American country.The arid coastal strip in the northwest of Venezuela, known as Alta Guajira, is heavily controlled by the National Liberation Army, or Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) in Spanish, an armed guerilla group known for its history of drug trafficking that is also active in neighboring Colombia. Two members of Venezuela’s Wayuu indigenous community in the area told NBC News that they witnessed an unexplained explosion on Dec. 18 that destroyed a hut that possibly was used for storage. President Donald Trump said in an interview with WABC radio in New York last week that the U.S. had “knocked out” a facility tied to Venezuela, a move that would be a major escalation in U.S. military strikes to counter alleged drug-trafficking by the South American country.NBC News reporting has not established a link between the explosion described by Trump and the explosion described by the eyewitnesses in northwest Venezuela.Officials search the site of a strike in Alta Guajira, Venezuela.Obtained by NBC NewsThe apparent attack follows months of U.S. military pressure, including dozens of strikes on boats in international waters. The White House has claimed that the boats carried drugs, though officials have not provided evidence.In the short phone interview Friday, Trump responded to a comment about Venezuela by touting the administration’s attacks on alleged drug boats before referring to a strike on a “big plant or big facility” that he said took place two nights earlier.Pressed about the attack Monday at a media availability session at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, Trump said it was a “major explosion” in a dock area along Venezuela’s shoreline where boats were loaded with drugs.The CIA has declined to comment on reports that it conducted a drone strike last week at a port facility in Venezuela. The White House has also declined to comment beyond Trump’s remarks on anything related to possible land strikes in Venezuela. Ana, one of the witnesses who did not want her last name used for fear of reprisals, told NBC News by phone that the explosion she witnessed happened on the afternoon of Dec. 18, a few days after she heard a strange noise that she guessed might be a drone surveilling the area. She said she was fishing for dinner along with relatives when the explosion destroyed the hut. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ana said, noting that the explosion was so loud that she and her relatives were unable to hear for hours. She suspects that some of her relatives suffered hearing damage and said her family’s boat was destroyed along with their fishing nets.“We are humble people who fish to survive,” she said. “We need help to recover what we lost.”The other witness, who is also a member of the Wayuu indigenous community and did not want to provide his full name for fear of reprisals, corroborated Ana’s story in a telephone interview.“I don’t know if it was a missile or a rocket. The truth is, we don’t know what it was,” the second witness said. “But it was a big explosion.”According to Ana, representatives from the Venezuelan government showed up the morning after she heard the blast — around 10 a.m. Dec. 19. She said local residents asked them for help, for a doctor to check on the hearing problems and for new fishing nets and hammocks, which had also been blown up.Ana said one of government representatives blamed the U.S. and said: “The gringos did this.”NBC News asked the Venezuelan government for comment and did not immediately receive a response. It is not clear who was responsible for the Dec. 18 explosion.“We are grateful to be alive,” Ana said. “But we’re scared.”On Monday, Trump declined to answer when he was asked whether it was the military or the CIA that conducted the strike inside Venezuela that he described last week. “I don’t want to say that,” he said. “I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say who it was. But you know, it was along the shore.”With details so scarce, Trump’s comments have touched off a wave of speculation inside Venezuela about the U.S.’ target. For days, local news reports and videos on social media have circulated of a explosion last Wednesday in Maracaibo, a major port city.Primazol, a chemical production company, said one of its warehouses had caught fire. In a statement later, it “categorically rejected” rumors on social media that the fire was connected to any U.S. strike.But in a lengthy post on X, Colombia President Gustavo Petro said “Trump bombed a factory in Maracaibo” where it was feared that the ELN was mixing coca paste to make cocaine and take advantage of the port’s location by the sea. “Trump has been led to believe that I am a front man for Maduro, hence his recent references to me,” Petro wrote, referring to former President Nicolás Maduro. “I thought that American intelligence was more professional, or that even if it is, the U.S. president doesn’t listen to it and surrounds himself with greedy far-right individuals who are not looking for the truth.”Gabe GutierrezGabe Gutierrez is a senior White House correspondent for NBC News.Erika AnguloErika Angulo is a senior coordinating producer for NBC News.Megan Lebowitz contributed.