US Conducts Strike on Venezuelan Dock

U.S. officials announced an operation that the Trump administration says destroyed a docking area used to load drug-smuggling boats and reported additional strikes against vessels tied to alleged cartels.

“Venezuela is open to reaching an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, according to President Nicolás Maduro CARACAS, Venezuela --Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States tocombat drug trafficking, the South American country’s President Nicolás Maduro said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday on state television, but he declined to comment on a CIA-led strike last week at a Venezuelan docking area that the Trump administration believed was used by cartels”

ABC News

The administration and U.S. military statements count repeated boat strikes since September, bringing known strikes to roughly 35 and reporting at least 114–115 dead, and describe the actions as part of a larger campaign to disrupt drug flows.

ABC News

Reports also identify Venezuelans among the victims.

U.S. briefings and media reporting described these developments as a major escalation in pressure on President Nicolás Maduro and his government.

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro publicly declined to confirm or deny a reported U.S. strike on a dock.

He said the issue could be something to discuss in a few days.

Al Jazeera

He signalled openness to talks with Washington on drugs, oil and migration.

Those remarks aired on state television during a New Year's Eve interview.

Maduro also claimed U.S. pressure, including recent military moves, aims to force regime change and seize Venezuela's oil.

There is public ambiguity over who carried out the reported dock strike.

“Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Thursday he was open to talks with the US on drug trafficking and oil, after weeks of an escalating pressure campaign against his government”

BBC

President Trump described the strike as having destroyed a loading area used by drug boats but did not say whether it was a military or intelligence operation.

At the same time, two anonymous sources told ABC News that the CIA carried out a drone strike at a docking area last week, which ABC described as the first known U.S. operation on Venezuelan soil in this campaign.

Other outlets similarly note that U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the evidence tying the site or boats to drug trafficking.

Human-rights and legal concerns appear repeatedly alongside U.S. descriptions of the campaign.

Several accounts note that the administration has not publicly produced evidence linking the struck vessels or the dock to drug-trafficking.

CTV News

Critics, including legal and rights commentators cited by regional outlets, have warned the strikes risk amounting to extrajudicial killings.

The U.S. government rejects those charges and defends the operations as needed to stem narcotics flows and protect U.S. security interests.

Observers place the strikes in a broader geopolitical pattern.

“ETV Bharat/international ByAFP Published :January 2, 2026 at 7:31 AM IST Caracas:President Nicolas Maduro Thursday dodged a question about an alleged US attack on a dock in Venezuela but said he was open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of American military pressure”

ETV Bharat

Fox News details a suite of escalatory U.S. measures, including seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker, imposing a blockade, and designating Maduro’s government a foreign terrorist organization.

ETV Bharat

Outlets such as the South China Morning Post highlight Caracas’s argument that a significant U.S. military presence in the Caribbean reflects an effort at regime change.

At the same time, Maduro’s public willingness to negotiate on narcotics, oil, and migration is reported across regional and international outlets, leaving a picture of rising tension alongside overtures to diplomacy.