The CIA provides most of the intelligence used for airstrikes against vessels carrying drugs in the Caribbean.

In a report by the Guardian, citing three sources with knowledge of the operations, it says the CIA’s involvement means that much of the evidence used will remain secret.

The CIA provides real-time information gathered from satellites and signal intercepts to track vessels it believes are carrying drugs, monitors their routes and makes recommendations on which vessels to hit with missiles.

However, the drones or other aircraft that launch the missiles to hit the boats belong to the US military, not the CIA.

CIA involvement has been on the sidelines until now, the paper adds.

Donald Trump confirmed last Wednesday that he had authorized covert CIA action in Venezuela, without further details.

Mark Lowenthal, former deputy director of analysis at the CIA, explained that the agency provides information that is not the same as evidence. He believes that it is unlikely that the CIA’s information about the targets will ever be made public. “They will claim it’s classified and not make it public. And they may be right. They have all kinds of exemptions in the law.”

So far, the only information that has been made public are clips of video apparently from a drone showing the explosion.