Donald Trump's undeclared campaign against the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro has entered a perilous new phase, with reports confirming the first US ground strike on Venezuelan soil. The alleged drone attack on a port facility marks a significant escalation in a four-month-long military pressure campaign that has so far been waged from the sea.
A Shadow War Intensifies
Nearly a week after former US President Donald Trump first announced a ground strike, details remain shrouded in secrecy. CNN and the New York Times reported late on Monday, 22 December 2025, that they had confirmed the CIA used a drone to target a facility allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua street gang. No casualties were reported, but the precise date, time, and location are still unknown. The Maduro government has maintained a conspicuous silence on the incident.
If verified, this strike represents a dramatic shift in tactics. Since August, the US campaign has involved a massive naval deployment, airstrikes claiming 107 lives, a "total blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers, and the seizure of vessels. Independent organisations and analysts within Venezuela have so far been unable to corroborate any details of the alleged land attack.
The Psyops Campaign and Maduro's Fight for Survival
Analysts argue that regardless of the strike's veracity, Trump's announcement itself is a calculated move in a psychological shadow war. "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," said Alejandro Velasco, a Venezuela historian at New York University. He added that for Maduro and his inner circle, the conflict is singularly about survival: "For them, the war is about how to survive one more day."
Christopher Sabatini of Chatham House described the conflict as a high-stakes game of bluff. "It's not a war that involves massive amounts of weapons yet… So it's more of a war of moving pieces and hoping one side folds." He explained that Trump's entire strategy hinges on triggering a defection within Maduro's circle to form a new government—a gambit that has so far failed despite escalating pressure.
Minimal Impact on Drug Trade, Maximum Media Spectacle
The US has framed its military pressure as part of a "war on drugs," but experts question its efficacy. Andrés Antillano, a criminology professor at the Central University of Venezuela, said it was "unlikely" the strike destroyed significant drug infrastructure. He noted Venezuela plays a minor role in global cocaine trafficking to the US, and the Tren de Aragua gang is "very weakened and fragmented."
Antillano suggested the attack, if it happened, may have hit an isolated fishing village used by drug runners, which would explain the lack of information. The Maduro regime may also be reluctant to acknowledge the strike, having previously dismissed images of deadly Caribbean airstrikes as fake for weeks.
"In any case, even if everything Trump has said is true, it still seems to me an attack with minimal impact, despite its media coverage," Antillano concluded. He compared it to earlier airstrikes on boats, which killed fishermen—some possibly linked to trafficking—but did nothing to disrupt the drug trade or destabilise Maduro's grip on power.
The incident underscores a grim reality: as Trump's shadow war grows, the human cost rises while the strategic objective of removing Venezuela's strongman leader remains frustratingly out of reach.
