The situation escalates! The United States confirms

# Source: Wall Street Insights

## By Ye Zhen

Donald Trump made a rare public confirmation that the CIA carried out a drone strike inside Venezuela this month, destroying coastal drug-related facilities. This marks a major escalation of the U.S. pressure strategy against Venezuela. In the face of the cross-border strike, Nicolás Maduro maintained restraint and refrained from making an official response. Analysts believe this is a combination of "fear and strategy", aimed at preserving room for negotiations. Geopolitical risks have surged sharply, and the market is closely monitoring the potential impact of the evolving situation on the energy market.

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted a strike operation inside Venezuela this month, marking a significant escalation of the U.S. pressure campaign against the South American nation.

Citing CNN and multiple other media reports, *Global Times* stated that on the local time of the 29th, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed to the press a piece of news: the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recently launched a drone strike on a port facility along Venezuela's coast, which is believed to have been used for storing and transporting narcotics.

Prior to his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told the media that U.S. forces had destroyed this "large-scale facility", claiming that a "major explosion" had occurred there and that "the place no longer exists now". Although no casualties have been confirmed so far and the Venezuelan side has yet to make an official response, the sharp rise in geopolitical risks has already attracted intense market attention.

The operation took place against the backdrop of the U.S. ramping up its military deployments in the region. Earlier, the U.S. had launched Operation "Southern Spear" and repeatedly threatened to expand the scope of its strikes against "drug cartels" from maritime to land-based targets.

This operation has quickly sparked concerns from various parties about the situation spiraling out of control. Bloomberg analysis suggests that while the White House has characterized the operation as an anti-drug strike, it has triggered a fierce debate in the U.S. Congress over war authorization, and at the same time, it is testing the loyalty and bottom line of the Venezuelan military to the limit. Investors are closely watching whether the regional situation will escalate further, thereby exerting broader direct impacts on the energy market and regional geopolitical stability.

### A Rare "Public" Covert Operation

According to media reports, the strike took place earlier this month, targeting what the U.S. side identified as an "operational area" used for loading narcotics. Prior to this, U.S. media reported that Trump had mentioned the strike during a radio program on December 26. Later, when pressed by reporters, he stated that he "didn't want to say which government department was responsible", but multiple U.S. officials confirmed that the operation was carried out by the CIA.

Trump's decision to publicly disclose this operation, which should have been highly classified, has triggered unease within the intelligence community. Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA operations officer, said that former intelligence officials are almost universally frustrated by the president's choice to reveal the intelligence community's covert operation. Typically, such operations are designed to send a signal to adversaries while retaining diplomatic deniability.

However, citing the views of Ryan Berg, Director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), media reports noted that Trump's move may be an attempt to use the covert operation to exert greater pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Earlier, Trump had repeatedly threatened to expand the scope of strikes against Venezuelan "drug cartels" from maritime to land-based targets, and launched the military operation "Southern Spear" in November.

This strategy has already sparked a backlash in the U.S. Congress. According to multiple media reports, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned on social media that the "air strike on a land target" means that Trump's "illegal war" in Venezuela has spiraled out of control. Another Democratic Senator, Ed Markey, bluntly called it an "act of war", warning that Trump is leading the United States into an illegal war with Venezuela.

### Maduro's Silence and the Future Trajectory

In the face of this rare direct cross-border strike by the U.S., the Venezuelan side's response has been notably cautious. According to *Global Times* reports, as of press time, Venezuelan authorities have not made an official statement on the matter. Media observed that Maduro did not mention the strike during his nearly two-hour speech on Monday night, instead emphasizing the unity and loyalty of the military.

Carmen Beatriz Fernández, Director of DataStrategia, a Spanish political consulting firm, analyzed that Maduro has shown restraint because he is well aware that he is in an extremely precarious situation. This is a response that combines "fear and strategy", aimed at preserving the possibility of negotiations. Trump also told the media on Monday that he had recently spoken with Maduro, but described the conversation as "going nowhere".

Regarding the next step of the situation, Evan Ellis, a Latin America expert at the U.S. Army War College, told the media that Trump is "inching forward". If this is confirmed to be a CIA covert operation, it is indeed an unprecedented new move, but it does not yet mean that the U.S. will directly enter a new phase of large-scale ground attacks.

Currently, the situation is still in a delicate phase of game-playing. Media pointed out that the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Venezuelan companies linked to the supply of Iranian drones on Tuesday, indicating that multi-dimensional pressure is still ongoing. Whether Maduro can withstand this round of direct strike pressure from the U.S. mainland with the support of his so-called "loyal military" will be the focus of market attention in the future.

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