WEST PALM BEACH, Florida | Dec 29 (GeokHub) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that American forces carried out a strike on a site in Venezuela used to load boats with illegal drugs, marking the first publicly acknowledged land-based U.S. operation in Venezuela since Washington intensified pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump told reporters.
“We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area… the implementation area. That is no longer around.”
Trump did not specify the precise target, location, or which U.S. agency conducted the operation. When asked whether the Central Intelligence Agency carried out the strike, Trump declined to confirm.
“I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say who it was,” he said.
REPORTS POINT TO CIA DRONE STRIKE
CNN reported earlier this month that the CIA conducted a drone strike against a remote port facility on Venezuela’s coast believed to be used by the criminal group Tren de Aragua to store narcotics and load them onto boats for export.
Trump has previously said he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. He also made vague comments last week about an apparent U.S. operation against a “big facility” in the country.
The CIA, White House and Pentagon have declined to comment publicly. The Venezuelan government has not issued any official response, and there have been no independent confirmations from inside Venezuela.
DENIAL OVER CHRISTMAS EVE EXPLOSION
The comments fueled speculation online that Trump was referring to a Christmas Eve fire at Primazol, a chemical plant in Venezuela’s Zulia state. The company denied the claim, saying the fire was quickly extinguished and unrelated to any U.S. action.
Residents near the plant told Reuters they heard an explosion, saw flames and smelled chlorine, but no link to U.S. operations has been confirmed.
ESCALATING PRESSURE ON MADURO
Reuters reported last month that the Trump administration was preparing a new phase of operations against Venezuela, with U.S. officials indicating that covert actions would likely be the opening step.
The U.S. has already carried out dozens of strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. According to U.S. officials, more than 100 people have been killed in over 20 strikes, prompting scrutiny from Congress.
Lawmakers were briefed earlier this month on a September incident in which an initial U.S. strike killed 11 people, followed by a second strike that raised legal and ethical concerns among Democrats.
Trump’s administration has also overseen a significant U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, deploying more than 15,000 troops as part of its pressure campaign against Maduro’s government.
