Trump Reveals Secret Venezuela Strike --- CIA attack on a land target represents a major escalation in the U.S. campaign

“A Central Intelligence Agency attack against a dock in Venezuela earlier this month was the first known operation inside the country since President Trump authorized the spy agency to operate clandestinely against its drug traffickers and government.

 

It was Trump who decided the strike wouldn't remain a secret.

 

He first mentioned it on a radio show that aired Dec. 26, saying the U.S. had destroyed "a big plant or facility where ships come from." He has revealed more details in recent days, including that the target was believed to be an "implementation area" where boats were loaded with drugs.

 

Pressed by a reporter on which arm of the government was responsible, Trump replied: "I don't want to say." But according to several U.S. officials, the CIA conducted the attack.

 

When Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made no public comment after the operation, Trump might have decided that disclosing it himself would send a clear message.

 

"Trump is likely leveraging covert operations to pressure Maduro," said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

 

Sen. Chris Murphy, (D., Conn.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the reported strike Tuesday in a post on X.

 

"Airstrikes on land targets. The illegality of Trump's insane war in Venezuela is out of control," Murphy said. "Remember, this has NOTHING to do with stopping drugs from entering America. Venezuela produces cocaine bound for Europe."

 

Trump's willingness to disclose the CIA's activities even without naming the agency is far different than most other presidents, who rarely have mentioned drone strikes and other secret operations it has conducted for decades.

 

Use of the CIA often is intended to sidestep debate about using legally questionable methods abroad.

 

In 2019, Trump tweeted a classified image of a damaged Iranian facility that had been captured by a spy satellite. He also was indicted in 2023 for retaining classified documents that were found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his first term, though the charges were dismissed.

 

Trump revealed in October that he had given permission for covert action in Venezuela, telling reporters he "authorized" it because Caracas has "emptied their prisons" and were sending drugs to the U.S., charges that Venezuelan officials dispute.

 

Some CIA officials were upset that Trump publicized an operation normally intended to be secret, or at least have no obvious links to the U.S. government, said current and former officials.

 

"There was near-universal dismay among former intelligence officials that President Trump chose to disclose what almost certainly was intelligence community covert action," said Marc Polymero-polous, a former senior CIA operations officer.

 

Normally, such an operation would allow for public deniability, while sending a message to Maduro that more strikes can come at any place or time, he said.

 

The CIA declined to comment. The White House didn't respond to requests for comment about Trump's remarks. It couldn't be determined whether there were casualties in the attack.

 

Covert action, which is authorized in what is known as a presidential finding, can involve a range of secret activities including paramilitary and lethal operations meant to influence political, economic or military conditions in foreign countries.

 

The dock attack, which was reported earlier by CNN, represents a major escalation in the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela.

 

It couldn't be determined by The Wall Street Journal whether the CIA engaged in other activities inside the country.

 

Trump's decision to use the spy agency to conduct attacks inside Venezuela, despite a huge U.S. military buildup in the region, might be due in part to the debate on Capitol Hill about whether he needs congressional approval for military operations against the country, said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela expert at the Atlantic Council.

 

However, attacks on targets such as the one Trump disclosed might not accomplish the administration's objectives, Ramsey said. "Maduro is unlikely to be intimidated by covert actions if they are aimed at low-level drug traffickers," he said.

 

The CIA has a long history of engaging in covert action in Latin America, including operations several decades ago that backed regime change in Guatemala, Chile and Nicaragua. More recently, the agency largely has shifted to working with and sharing intelligence with regional allies.

 

Earlier this year, CIA deputy director Michael Ellis said the CIA was applying counterterrorism tactics to what long has been considered a law-enforcement issue.

 

"At the end of the day, we're talking about dismantling a network," Ellis said at the time on a conservative political podcast. "And that is something that CIA has spent two decades in the war on terror learning how to do."” [1]

 

1. World News: Trump Reveals Secret Venezuela Strike --- CIA attack on a land target represents a major escalation in the U.S. campaign. Holliday, Shelby; Volz, Dustin; Paris, Costas.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 31 Dec 2025: A8.