Cyberattacks Likely Part of Military Operation in Venezuela

Cyberattacks are described as possibly part of a wider military operation in Venezuela, with President Trump hinting at “a certain expertise” that shut down power in Caracas during the raid. During a 3 January 2026 press conference, he suggested the outage was linked to such expertise, though the exact role of cyber operations remains unsettled.

NetBlocks recorded a loss of Internet connectivity in parts of the capital on 3 January, but officials note that purely kinetic attacks could also explain the outage, and our telemetry does not expose any specific cyber capability. The piece notes that multiple agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the US Cyber Command, conducted cyber operations in past missions, and cites remarks by Gen. Dan Caine on layering effects from SPACECOM and CYBERCOM.

It also discusses Venezuela’s infrastructure as a relatively soft target for cyber actions, with experts cautioning against drawing firm conclusions about cyber being a key element of the Caracas operation.