Thomas Unise
Recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela have resulted in extensive damage beyond military targets, including the destruction of scientific research facilities and civilian infrastructure, according to Venezuelan officials.
Scope of Destruction
The air strikes, which killed at least 56 Venezuelan soldiers, also reportedly devastated several buildings at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC). Science and Technology Minister Gabriela Jimenez shared footage showing a completely obliterated mathematics department building at the institute.
According to Jimenez, four additional IVIC buildings were targeted: the physics, chemistry, ecology, and nuclear research centers. The minister described the attack as “an unprecedented act of imperial aggression,” noting that essential computer networks and servers were “completely devastated.”
Civilian Infrastructure Impacts
Beyond academic facilities, Jose Alejandro Teran, governor of La Guaira, reported that a medicine warehouse in the coastal city near Caracas was destroyed in the strikes. Teran claimed that “tons of medicine” and food supplies were “burned to ash” as a result of U.S. bombs and missiles.
The IVIC research center is located approximately 11 miles from Fuerte Tiuna, the military installation from which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were reportedly kidnapped by U.S. special forces.
Civilian Casualties
Despite the Trump administration characterizing the operation as “precision” in nature, civilian casualties have been reported. Among the fatalities was Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, a 45-year-old single mother killed by a U.S. missile. At least one of Sierra’s daughters was also injured in the strike.
Scale of Operations
The military operation reportedly involved at least 150 U.S. warplanes and drones. While the Trump administration has emphasized the deaths of Venezuelan and Cuban soldiers, the emerging evidence suggests a broader impact on civilian and scientific infrastructure.
Questions remain about why scientific research facilities were targeted in what was ostensibly a military operation, raising concerns about the true scope and objectives of the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
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