President Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. has carried out a strike on a dock area believed to be involved in Venezuelan drug trafficking.
During a press briefing in Florida, Trump mentioned a major explosion from the previous week, although he did not disclose the exact location or details regarding U.S. military or CIA involvement.
The Venezuelan government has yet to provide a response, and it remains uncertain if the strike occurred within Venezuelan territory.
Since September, the U.S. has targeted over 20 drug-smuggling vessels, predominantly from Venezuela, in both the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in at least 100 casualties.
The latest strike occurred on Monday, with U.S. Southern Command indicating that two narco-terrorists were eliminated in a lethal kinetic strike in the eastern Pacific.
Trump has previously hinted at possible land strikes in Venezuela and authorized covert CIA actions against President Nicolás Maduro's administration.
When pressed about the CIA's involvement, Trump declined to comment definitively but affirmed knowledge of who executed the attack.
Trump reiterated, 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. This was not the first time Trump has referenced the explosion; he had previously described a U.S. operation targeting a big facility without elaboration.
Despite inquiries directed to the Pentagon, they referred matters back to the White House, which has yet to issue a statement.
In past operations against alleged drug boats, the Pentagon routinely shared images and footage on social media; however, no visuals have been released regarding this dock incident.
Trump's administration has interpreted attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as actions against terrorists attempting to funnel illegal drugs into the U.S.
Currently, 15,000 U.S. troops, alongside a fleet including aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers, have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of an extensive operation, the largest in the area since the 1989 Panama invasion, aimed at halting the flow of fentanyl and cocaine into the U.S.
The USS Gerald Ford, recognized as the world's largest aircraft carrier, is among the deployed vessels. Following operations from this ship, U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela on December 10.
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of channeling oil revenues to bear the costs of drug-related crime, while Venezuela has labeled these seizures as piracy. Maduro has refuted U.S. allegations of him being a drug cartel leader, claiming that the U.S. uses its war on drugs as a pretext to undermine his regime and exploit Venezuela's oil reserves.
When asked if the ultimate goal of these seizures was the removal of Maduro from power, Trump responded, Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that. But again, we're gonna find out.
