President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States carried out a strike on a dock in Venezuela where drugs were allegedly being loaded onto boats.
His remarks followed comments he made last Friday during a radio interview, in which he claimed the U.S. had “knocked out” a major facility in Venezuela as part of his administration’s broader effort to curb drug trafficking from the region, including operations against suspected drug boats.
“And we just knocked out, I don’t know if you read or you saw, they have a big plant or a big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from. Two nights ago we knocked that out, so we hit them very hard,” Trump said on WABC’s Cats and Cosby. He did not provide further details.
If Trump’s account is accurate, it would represent the first known strike on land inside Venezuela since his administration began escalating its campaign against the country.
On Monday, while welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump was pressed by reporters to clarify the nature of the operation, including whether it involved the U.S. military. The question came after Trump confirmed in October that he had authorized the CIA to operate inside the South American nation.
“Well, it doesn’t matter, but there was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said. “They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”
ABC News has reached out to both the Pentagon and the White House for comment. The Pentagon referred inquiries to the White House, while the CIA declined to comment.
Trump has hinted at possible land-based action in Venezuela for weeks. Meanwhile, the U.S. has increased its military presence in the region, with approximately 15,000 troops and several warships positioned in the Caribbean. Earlier this month, Trump ordered what he described as a “complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers traveling into and out of Venezuela, targeting the government’s primary source of revenue.
Continuing to intensify pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump said last week it would be “smart” for Maduro to step aside.
“He can do whatever he wants, it’s alright, whatever he wants to do,” Trump said. “If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”
