Lead: A U.S. government official told The Intercept that the CIA carried out a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility on December 24, marking what U.S. sources describe as the first known CIA attack on Venezuelan territory. The strike targeted a dock U.S. officials say was used by the Tren de Aragua gang; no one was on the dock and no casualties were reported. President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged he authorized operations in Venezuela but declined to explicitly name the CIA. The attack is part of a broader U.S. campaign this year that has included strikes on maritime targets in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Key Takeaways
- The December 24 drone strike hit a dock in Venezuela believed by U.S. officials to be used by Tren de Aragua; U.S. sources say no deaths occurred on the dock.
- A U.S. official told The Intercept the CIA conducted the operation; the CIA did not confirm the strike when contacted.
- President Trump acknowledged authorizing operations in Venezuela and referenced hitting a facility on Christmas Eve in public remarks from USS Gerald R. Ford and Mar-a-Lago.
- Since September, U.S. attacks on boats in Caribbean and Pacific waters have killed at least 107 civilians across roughly 30 strikes, according to reporting cited by The Intercept.
- Legal and policy experts, and some members of Congress, say such strikes raise questions about authorization and compliance with the laws of war, including protections for civilians.
- The U.S. military presence in the region has increased, with MQ-9 Reaper drones observed as part of the operational buildup.
- Washington’s campaign against Nicolás Maduro is tied to a longer history of U.S. efforts to influence regime outcomes in Latin America, with documented cases of covert and overt interventions dating back decades.
Background
Throughout 2025, the Trump administration intensified a campaign it says targets transnational criminal groups operating from Venezuela, including strikes on vessels alleged to traffic narcotics. Administration officials have repeatedly singled out Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, arguing it poses an external threat; courts and U.S. intelligence bodies have at times challenged those assessments. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded earlier this year that the Maduro government “probably does not” have a policy of directing Tren de Aragua’s operations to or in the United States, a finding that complicates claims tying the gang directly to Caracas.
U.S. forces and intelligence units have a long precedent of using covert action and paramilitary measures in Latin America. Historical episodes — including U.S.-backed operations in Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973) — are frequently cited by scholars assessing the risks of intervention. Recent studies show many U.S.-led regime-change efforts produced short-term tactical gains at the cost of long-term instability, declines in democratic norms, and increased regional anti-American sentiment.
Main Event
U.S. sources say the CIA executed a drone strike on December 24 that struck a dock area used to load boats, an installation U.S. officials associate with Tren de Aragua. According to the official who spoke to The Intercept, there were no people on the pier at the time and no fatalities from that specific strike. The attack was first widely reported by CNN, and later detailed by The Intercept with attribution to a government official familiar with the operation.
President Trump referenced operations against Venezuelan facilities in public remarks made around the same period. Onboard the USS Gerald R. Ford and in a separate exchange at Mar-a-Lago, he said U.S. forces had “knocked out” a facility used to load boats and described a major explosion at a dock area. When asked directly whether the CIA had carried out the Christmas Eve attack, Trump replied he did not want to say explicitly.
U.S. officials link the dock attack to a broader pattern of strikes that have targeted maritime and other sites since September. Another U.S. strike on a separate day in the Pacific reportedly killed two individuals described by U.S. officials as “narco-terrorists.” Meanwhile, MQ-9 Reaper drones and other platforms have been observed operating in the region as part of force posture changes tied to the campaign against Maduro and transnational criminal networks.
Analysis & Implications
The attribution of a strike on Venezuelan soil to the CIA marks a notable escalation: it would be the first publicly reported CIA kinetic operation inside Venezuela. That raises legal and oversight questions because covert and paramilitary actions by intelligence services typically require internal legal review and, depending on their nature, notification to congressional committees. Critics argue that kinetic actions with lethal potential should have clear statutory authorization or express congressional oversight.
International law experts and bipartisan members of Congress have argued strikes that kill or place civilians at risk without imminent threat can amount to extrajudicial killings and violate the laws of armed conflict. The administration’s public framing — labeling criminal groups as “terrorists” or as external threats — affects the legal rationale used to justify cross-border operations and complicates judicial and congressional review if authorities are asserted unilaterally.
Strategically, the strike may degrade a specific logistical node for trafficking, but history suggests kinetic actions alone are unlikely to resolve complex political problems in Venezuela. RAND and other analysts caution that overt intervention or sustained operations can become messy and protracted. Any escalation risks heightened bilateral tensions, regional diplomatic backlash, and potential retaliation against U.S. interests or partners.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Figure / Example |
|---|---|
| Reported maritime strikes since Sept 2025 | ~30 attacks; at least 107 civilian deaths (reporting cited) |
| U.S. interventions in Latin America (1898–1994) | At least 41 interventions; 17 direct interventions by U.S. forces or agencies |
| Top criminal/strategic targets cited in 2025 campaign | Tren de Aragua, alleged “Cártel de los Soles”, maritime trafficking nodes |
The table contextualizes the December 24 strike within the recent pattern of maritime actions and the longer history of U.S. involvement in regime-change or interventionist activities across Latin America. The casualty figure of 107 civilians in roughly 30 attacks, cited in public reporting, is central to debates over proportionality and legal justification. Historical counts of interventions underline how frequently Washington has employed political, covert, and military tools in the region.
Reactions & Quotes
Responses ranged from legal and policy condemnation to administration statements that framed the strikes as part of counter-narcotics operations.
This is the lawless Trump administration in action.
Sam Ratner, Policy Director, Win Without War (civil society)
Administration spokespeople and the president emphasized authorization of operations while stopping short of naming the agency responsible for the Christmas Eve strike. Intelligence sources briefed on the operation confirmed CIA participation to The Intercept; the agency formally declined to comment through an email response identified only by a first name.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,”
President Donald Trump (public remarks at Mar-a-Lago)
Legal scholars and some members of Congress have urged clearer disclosure about the legal basis for cross-border lethal operations and whether statutory authority or congressional notification requirements have been met.
Unconfirmed
- The full chain-of-command authorization documents for the December 24 strike have not been publicly released and thus cannot be independently verified.
- Whether the dock served as a regularly used launch point for international trafficking or represented a one-off staging area remains unconfirmed by open-source evidence.
- The extent of direct coordination, if any, between Maduro or Venezuelan state agents and Tren de Aragua has not been definitively established in public reporting.
Bottom Line
If the CIA did conduct the Christmas Eve drone strike on Venezuelan soil as government sources told The Intercept, the operation represents a discrete escalation in U.S. action against perceived transnational criminal threats operating from Venezuela. The operation fits within a broader campaign of strikes against maritime targets and a political trajectory that has increasingly framed irregular criminal groups as threats warranting cross-border action.
The episode sharpens legal and policy questions: what authorities justify such strikes, how Congress is informed or involved, and how civilian harm is assessed and minimized. Longer term, history cautions that kinetic measures without political strategies to address governance, economic drivers, and regional dynamics are unlikely to produce sustainable stability and may carry significant blowback risks.
Sources
- The Intercept (investigative reporting)
- CNN (mainstream news reporting on initial strike)
- Politico (reported presidential remarks and related coverage)
- RAND Corporation (analysis on intervention risks)
- Costs of War Project, Brown University (long-term conflict cost estimates)
- ReVista, Harvard Review of Latin America (historical overview of U.S. interventions)