President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States struck a dock in Venezuela that was allegedly being used to load drugs onto boats, marking the first known land strike by US forces in the Latin American country since Washington launched its pressure campaign four months ago.
In a radio interview last Friday, Trump stated that the US "knocked out" a "big facility" in Venezuela as part of his administration's effort to combat drug trafficking from the region. According to CNN, the strike was a CIA drone attack with no casualties, targeting a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast believed to be used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store and transport drugs.
In a separate operation, US Southern Command announced that at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the military conducted a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. The command stated the vessel was "operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" and was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes.
The strikes are part of a broader campaign that has resulted in significant casualties. As of December 29, 2025, at least 107 people have been killed in 30 strikes on 31 vessels, including 11 vessels struck in the Caribbean Sea and 20 in the Eastern Pacific. The operations have been accompanied by the largest US military show of force in the region in decades, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, F-35 jets, and approximately 15,000 troops.
The campaign has drawn international criticism. United Nations human rights experts have condemned the partial naval blockade, calling it illegal armed aggression against Venezuela. The Guardian has reported that governments and families of those killed claim many victims were civilians, primarily fishermen. Despite the controversy, the Trump administration continues to expand operations in what it describes as a war on drug trafficking.
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