U.S. drone strike inside Venezuela marks first confirmed attack on land

Tuesday 30 December 2025 - 18:50

By: Dakir Madiha

U.S. drone strike inside Venezuela marks first confirmed attack on land

Earlier this month, a U.S. intelligence drone struck a port facility inside Venezuela. The operation marked the first acknowledged American attack on land since the Trump administration began an intensified military campaign in the Caribbean four months ago.

President Donald Trump publicly confirmed the strike on December 29. He described a major explosion at a port area where vessels were believed to be loaded with narcotics. The operation, first reported by CNN, targeted an isolated dock along Venezuela’s coast that U.S. officials suspected was being used by the criminal group Tren de Aragua to store and move drugs. No casualties were reported, as the site was empty at the time of the strike.

Trump confirms operation while withholding details

Trump initially disclosed the attack during a radio interview on December 26. He said the United States had destroyed a large facility from which ships were operating, placing the timing of the strike around December 24. When pressed by reporters on whether the CIA or the military carried out the mission, Trump declined to specify. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence, he said he knew exactly who was responsible but chose not to say.

Escalation of a broader military campaign

The drone strike represents a significant expansion of Operation Southern Spear, the largest U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean since the Cuban missile crisis. The Trump administration has stationed roughly 15,000 troops across the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and F-35 fighter jets.

Since September, U.S. forces have conducted at least 28 strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Those operations have reportedly killed more than 100 people, according to publicly available accounts.

Legal criticism and international reaction

Legal scholars and international organizations have condemned the campaign as a breach of international law. United Nations experts stated in October that the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings and violate the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force.

William Burke White, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told Perry World House that the operations are unlawful under both international and U.S. domestic law. He argued that they exceed constitutional and statutory limits on executive power.

Venezuelan response remains restrained

Venezuelan authorities have not issued an official statement on the dock strike. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello criticized what he described as months of imperial madness by the United States.

President Nicolás Maduro rejected Trump’s ultimatum to step down from power. Addressing supporters, he said Venezuela seeks peace based on sovereignty, equality, and freedom, not what he called a peace of submission.