The United States has claimed responsibility for a strike on a dock in Venezuela, which President Donald Trump said was used to load boats with drugs. The announcement marks the first known land-based strike in Venezuela by the US since it began a regional pressure campaign four months ago.

Simultaneously, the US military reported a separate strike on a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of at least two people.

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Details of the Venezuelan Strike

Trump discussed the dock strike during a radio interview and a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida. He described the operation as targeting the implementation area where drug shipments are prepared for transport to the US:

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs… And that is no longer around,” Trump said.

The president declined to specify whether the US military or the CIA carried out the strike or to identify the exact location along Venezuela’s coast.

There has been no official response from Venezuela, and independent verification of the strike has yet to emerge.

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US Military Buildup in the Region

The strike is part of a broader US military campaign targeting drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. Since September, US operations have reportedly killed at least 107 people in 30 strikes, according to the Trump administration.

The US Southern Command labeled the Pacific strike victims as “two male narco-terrorists” whose vessel was engaged in “narco-trafficking operations.”

Additionally, the US has deployed over 15,000 troops to the region and imposed a blockade on sanctioned vessels entering and leaving Venezuela, intensifying pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US accuses of leading a drug cartel.

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Legal and International Concerns

Experts and rights groups have described the strikes as extrajudicial killings, noting that they likely violate both US and international law.

Trump has signaled plans to expand operations beyond maritime targets, suggesting land-based strikes in Venezuela could become more frequent. In October, he confirmed authorizing the CIA to carry out covert operations in the country, though the agency has not commented on the dock strike.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that Trump intends to continue targeting drug operations until Maduro concedes:

“He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.”

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Venezuela’s Response

Caracas denies involvement in drug trafficking and views the US military campaign as a pretext to overthrow Maduro and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, the world’s largest.

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Key Takeaways

• The US carried out its first known land strike in Venezuela targeting alleged drug-loading operations.
• A separate missile strike in the Pacific killed at least two people.
• The operations are part of Trump’s regional drug war, including blockades, airstrikes, and covert CIA actions.
• Legal experts have raised concerns about the legality of extrajudicial killings under international law.
• Venezuela denies drug involvement and accuses the US of pursuing regime change.