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The United States carried out a covert drone strike on a port facility along Venezuela's coastline earlier this month, in what is believed to be the first known American attack on a target inside Venezuelan territory, CNN reported.
According to CNN, the strike was executed by the CIA and targeted a remote dock that US agencies believe was being used by the criminal gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and transfer them onto boats for onward trafficking. No casualties were reported, as the site was reportedly empty at the time of the strike. The operation was not publicly disclosed earlier and marks a significant escalation in Washington's actions against Venezuela. CNN cited two sources that US Special Operations Forces had provided intelligence inputs for the strike, though this claim was rejected by the US Special Operations Command. Colonel Allie Weiskopf, spokesperson for US Special Operations Command, said, "Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support, " CNN quoted. Last week on Friday, US President Donald Trump indirectly confirmed the strike during a media interview, although he did not provide details at the time. Earlier on Monday, while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at his Mar-a-lago club in Florida, Trump said the US had struck a dock area used for loading boats involved in drug trafficking but declined to clarify whether the military or the CIA carried out the operation. He said there was "a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs." "So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area, it's an implementation area, that's where they implement, and that is no longer around," Trump added. When asked if the US military carried out the Venezuela operation, Trump declined to clarify. "I don't want to say that," he said, CNN reported. "I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was. But you know, it was along the shore." Trump first disclosed the operation during a recent interview, where he said the US struck "a big plant, or a big facility," adding, We knocked that out," CNN quoted. The drone strike comes amid growing pressure by the US on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has stepped up actions aimed at weakening Maduro's government, including repeated threats of direct strikes inside the country. In recent months, the US has destroyed more than 30 boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as part of what it calls a counter-narcotics campaign. These operations were conducted in international waters. The latest strike marks a shift, as it was carried out on Venezuelan soil, CNN reported. Trump has also ordered a blockade on oil tankers linked to Venezuela, particularly those under US sanctions, further tightening economic pressure on Caracas. (ANI)
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