CIA Reportedly Strikes Venezuelan Port

The CIA reportedly carried out a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility, which would mark the first known US offensive operation within the country.

The Details: According to CNN (Lean Left bias), the CIA targeted a dock on the Venezuelan coast that the US government believes is utilized by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua for storing and moving narcotics onto boats for shipping. Two unnamed sources said nobody was present at the facility and there were no casualties resulting from the strike. The sources also told CNN that US Special Operations Forces provided intelligence support to the operation, although the claim was disputed by spokesperson for US Special Operations Command Colonel Allie Weiskopf. The timing of the strike is also being questioned, with CNN saying the strike occurred earlier this month and the New York Times (Lean Left) saying it was "likely on Wednesday."

For Context: While discussing Venezuela on The Cats & Cosby Show, President Donald Trump made vague comments about a "big facility" in Venezuela being part of a US operation. On Monday, when asked by reporters about the comments, he said "We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area … it's the implementation area. That's where they implement, and that is no longer around." Trump in November suggested the US was planning "land action" in Venezuela to stop drug cartels, causing some to question whether the US should go to war with Venezuela as military activity increased in the Caribbean Sea. The US has also recently seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, and Trump has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. Lawmakers have also stepped in to question a "double tap" boat strike carried out by Admiral Mitch Bradley as the Trump administration continues to strike alleged drug boats in international waters.

How The Media Covered It: Some outlets on the right like the New York Post (Lean Right) described Tren de Aragua as "notoriously savage" and tied Trump's increasing pressure on "Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro" to his "frustrations with migration and drug trafficking from the beleaguered country." Other outlets like ZeroHedge (Lean Right) highlighted that the CNN report utilized "unnamed sources" while also mentioning the New York Times report specifying the strike took place on Wednesday. Outlets on the left, like Mediaite (Lean Left) highlighted that the repeated boat strikes carried out by the Trump administration has killed more than 80 people, saying that these actions have "received criticism from allies" and provided "informal adviser Laura Loomer" and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) as examples for this criticism. The New York Times said, "the intensifying campaign unites two particular targets of the Trump administration: Tren de Aragua and the Maduro government" and said although "the Trump administration has alleged there are close ties between the two," that "intelligence agencies have cast doubt on those conclusions."    

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