Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
Critics say the U.S.
strike on a facility in Venezuela is pulling the country deeper into a dangerous conflict.
President Trump confirmed new details this week about the operation,
targeting a dock where drugs were allegedly being loaded onto boats.
It's the first known U.S.
military action inside Venezuela,
marking an escalation in Trump's campaign against the Maduro government.
NPR's Franco-Ardonias reports Trump had been mourning for weeks that he was prepared to launch land strikes.
He first mentioned this port strike a week ago on a radio show.
While he hasn't been clear about how the strikes were conducted,
a US official confirmed to NPR's Tom Bowman that the CIA struck the dock.
Now, until now, the US has focused on strikes on boats.
It claims are trafficking drugs and some oil tankers.
But both of those operations have been taking place in international waters.
So this is a really big deal to strike on land.
It's an escalation.
It's NPR's Franco Ordonia's reporting.
A federal judge has halted efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
NPR's Stephen Besaha reports the White House claims the agency has been operating in the red for years.