Published 6 months ago • loading... • Updated 6 months ago
US strikes drug boat loading facility in Venezuela, Trump says
The CIA conducted a covert drone strike on a Venezuelan coastal drug-loading dock, marking the first known U.S. land attack in Venezuela with no casualties reported, officials said.
During a Dec. 26 WABC interview, President Donald Trump said the U.S. had "knocked out" a Venezuelan facility two nights earlier, targeting a key plant where ships come from.
Operation Southern Spear has involved maritime strikes destroying 30 alleged drug-running boats since last September and seized two oil tankers, including the Skipper with 1.9 million barrels of crude oil.
Local reports and social-media videos showed an explosion near Maracaibo, Venezuela, and Primazol said a warehouse caught fire on Dec. 24, while The White House declined to comment.
Several senior U.S. officials told The New York Times the attacked site was a drug‑trafficking operation, and The Pentagon's naval deployment aims to pressure President Nicolás Maduro for regime change.
Legal experts say the strikes raise legal concerns as Venezuela is not a major fentanyl source, the president has authorized covert CIA action, and U.S. and Caracas authorities have not confirmed Christmas Eve timing.