Trump administration officials confirmed to the New York Times that the United States destroyed a drug trafficking structure described as a drug laboratory inside Venezuela, according to X user @OrlvndoA in posts during the two-and-a-half-hour period ending at 5:15 a.m. UTC on Dec. 29, 2025. @OrlvndoA reported the New York Times article stating authorities referred to the target as a drug laboratory with no further details provided, in urgent posts translated from Spanish. One post noted the New York Times suggested a covert CIA operation authorized by President Trump a couple of months ago. The confirmation follows Primazol chemical company's statement over the prior period ending at 2:45 a.m. UTC confirming an incident at its Maracaibo headquarters here, with operations continuing from dispatch centers in Valencia and Guarenas, as posted on social media. Primazol's announcement came after X user @OFernandez28 reported three satellite fire records on Dec. 24 at Primazol warehouses in San Francisco municipality, Zulia state, coinciding with a 2 a.m. explosion. These events occur amid U.S. Southern Command's Operation Southern Spear announced Dec. 28 targeting Caribbean terrorist networks, with U.S. military deployments to Puerto Rico bases including Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, featuring 10 MQ-9A Reaper drones, 11 CV-22B Ospreys, 10 MC-130J Commando IIs, 36 fighter aircraft, an EC-130H Compass Call, and an E-11 BACN, as reported by X users @ianellisjones, @SA_Defensa, and @Arr3ch0 in prior periods.
