Almost a week after Donald Trump claimed he ordered the first US ground strike in a months-long campaign against Venezuela, independent checks have found no verified local evidence of the attack. US outlets reported a CIA drone struck a port facility tied to the Tren de Aragua gang; no casualties or precise timing and location have been confirmed. Analysts say the announcement is part of a shadow campaign aimed at provoking defections in Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle, while Venezuelan experts argue such strikes are unlikely to disrupt major drug-trafficking networks or topple Maduro.
Trump’s Covert Campaign in Venezuela Intensifies as Maduro Holds On
A protestor rides a motorcycle adorned with a poster with the image of Donald Trump, during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, on 22 December 2025.Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA
Nearly a week after former US president Donald Trump said he ordered what he described as the first US ground strike in a months-long pressure campaign on Venezuela, concrete details about the operation remain scarce.
What Was Reported
US outlets including CNN and The New York Times reported that US officials indicated the CIA used a drone to strike a "port facility" allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang. No casualties were reported, and the date, time and precise location of the reported attack have not been disclosed. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government have publicly remained silent.
Broader Campaign
If confirmed, a ground strike would mark a new phase in an effort that, since August, has included a large US naval deployment, airstrikes that US sources say have killed 107 people, a reported "total blockade" of sanctioned oil shipments, the seizure of two vessels, and the pursuit of a third. Independent organisations, activists and analysts inside Venezuela say they have found no verifiable local evidence of the alleged ground strike.
Expert Views
“Obviously, the US doesn’t want to call it a war because that would trigger congressional oversight … but it is a war, as people are dying — and they’re dying in a very explicit and loud way with these airstrikes on boats,” said Alejandro Velasco, a historian of modern Venezuela at New York University.
Velasco added that Maduro and his inner circle are focused on political survival: "For them, the war is about how to survive one more day." Christopher Sabatini, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, described the US approach as a psychological-operations campaign aimed at provoking defections within Maduro's ranks rather than launching a full-scale invasion.
Questions About Impact
Venezuelan criminologist Andrés Antillano and other trafficking experts say Venezuela plays a relatively modest role in the global cocaine trade compared with neighboring producers. They argue that even a successful strike against a facility tied to Tren de Aragua — a group many experts describe as weakened and fragmented — would be unlikely to disrupt major trafficking networks or unseat Maduro.
Antillano suggested the reported strike could have occurred in an isolated location, which might explain the lack of verifiable local reporting, and noted that the Maduro government has sometimes delayed or contested public accounts of earlier incidents.
What This Means
The reported action — whether it actually occurred or not — appears to be another element of a sustained, covert pressure campaign intended to destabilize the Maduro government by encouraging defections and applying economic and military pressure. Analysts say the strategy so far has not produced a clear political breakthrough and carries risks of escalation and civilian harm.
Bottom line: Reporting remains fragmentary and independently unconfirmed. The move, confirmed only by US outlets and officials, underlines a risky shadow campaign that critics say is more likely to produce localized strikes and political pressure than an immediate overthrow of Maduro.
