Days after a deadly drone strike on a camp within Venezuelan territory allegedly used by the ELN—Colombia's largest active rebel group—information emerged that US drones and intelligence had played a crucial role, but the extent of their involvement in the operation remains unclear. The New York Times reported that [9] the US "assisted" the Venezuelan military in the Oct. 31 attack in the border state of Apure, which killed at least 23 people. While the article quoted a US official who said that the drone was likely piloted [10] by US forces, it characterized the attack as a "joint operation" and cast it as the second [11] since June, when the Tren de Aragua [12] leader was killed [13]. Nevertheless, Juan Francisco García, a representative from local NGO FundaRedes [14], which initially reported the attack, contended [15] the strike was carried out by US forces alone. According to García, the Venezuelan military arrived on site the following day to secure the area and investigate what Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called [19] the "strange deaths." The strike comes as the Trump administration pushes [16] the Venezuelan government to sign a status of forces agreement [17] to enable US forces to stay in the country more permanently. (NACLA Update [20])
