Overview
- Speaking on Dec. 29, Trump said a “major explosion” destroyed a shore-side loading site for drug boats and referred to a Christmas Eve operation.
- He declined to say whether the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the strike, offered no location, and provided no casualty information.
- CNN and the New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported a CIA drone targeted a port facility used by the Tren de Aragua gang and that no one was present.
- U.S. Southern Command the same day announced another strike on a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific that killed two, bringing the campaign to about 30 boat strikes and at least 107 deaths since September.
- Venezuela has not publicly commented, and the U.S. continues a regional buildup of roughly 15,000 troops and the USS Gerald R. Ford as legal and diplomatic concerns over the strikes persist.