Frank Rondel
President Donald Trump stated on Monday that the United States had targeted a dock in Venezuela where drugs were reportedly being loaded onto vessels, reports Customreceipt. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump described the operation as a significant strike against the area used for implementing drug shipments.
Trump first mentioned the action in a radio interview on Friday, noting that the U.S. had “knocked out” a large facility in Venezuela as part of broader efforts to combat drug trafficking from the region, which have included strikes against alleged drug-carrying boats. “Two nights ago we knocked that out, so we hit them very hard,” Trump said on WABC’s “Cats and Cosby,” without providing further operational details.
When asked directly on Monday whether the strike was executed by the U.S. military, Trump responded, “Well, it doesn’t matter, but there was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. 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.”
If confirmed, this would represent the first known land-based strike in Venezuela since the Trump administration intensified its campaign against the Maduro government. Trump has repeatedly hinted at potential land operations in the country in recent weeks.
The U.S. has reinforced its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying approximately 15,000 troops and several warships in the region. Earlier in December, Trump imposed what he described as a “complete blockade” on all sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, targeting the South American nation’s primary source of revenue. Requests for comment from the Pentagon and the CIA were either deferred or declined.
Earlier we wrote that Trump announces US strike on ISIS in Nigeria, coordinated with nigerian authorities.