President Trump said that a facility in Venezuela was “knocked out” by the military as the U.S. continues its war on drugs and puts pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area, where they load the boats up with drugs,” Mr. Trump told reporters Monday in Florida. “It’s the implementation area, and that is no longer around.”
Mr. Trump initially discussed the U.S. strikes on the loading facility for alleged drug boats with radio host John Catsimatidis on WABC radio, when he announced the strike.
“I don’t know if you read or saw, they have a big plant or a big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from,” Mr. Trump said Friday as he called into the show. “Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So, we hit them very hard.”
He didn’t share many other details and it’s unclear where the facility was or if there were any deaths from the attack.
The Washington Times has reached out to the White House and Department of Defense for comment.
American officials told The New York Times that the president was referring to a drug facility that was eliminated.
This would be the first known strike on land conducted by the U.S.; so far, the only strikes have been against boats. But Mr. Trump has hinted for weeks that land strikes could be coming.
The Defense Department has carried out a series of strikes against alleged drug boats coming out of the region. Some 28 boats have been struck and at least 104 people have been killed.
This is just the latest part of the pressure campaign against Mr. Maduro. The U.S. has said Mr. Maduro is a drug lord who aids the passage of drugs into the U.S. He is under indictment in the U.S. for his role in the drug trade.
In October, the president confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Mr. Trump has also designated the Venezuelan government a “terrorist organization” and has ordered a “complete and total” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of the country.
The U.S. has also seized two oil tankers from the country. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves and produces roughly 1 million barrels a day.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media earlier this month. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said after the second oil tanker was captured that the U.S. “will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region.”
The president said the U.S. will keep the oil.
