President Donald Trump has suggested that the U.S. has “hit” a dock facility along a shore amid his ongoing efforts, though the U.S. provided little detail.
Trump initially appeared to confirm a strike during what seemed like an unplanned radio interview on Friday. When asked by reporters on Monday about “an explosion in Venezuela,” he stated that the U.S. had targeted a facility where boats alleged to be transporting drugs “load up.”
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said as he . “They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. There’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”
This forms part of an intensifying campaign to target what the Trump administration describes as headed for the United States. It marks a shift closer to shore strikes, which up to now have been conducted by the military in international waters of the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Trump refused to specify whether the U.S. military or the CIA conducted the recent strike, nor did he reveal its location. He also did not confirm that it took place in Venezuela.
“I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say who it was. But you know it was along the shore,” Trump said.
Trump first mentioned the strike on Friday, when he called radio host John Catsimatidis during a program on WABC radio and discussed U.S. strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats. These attacks have resulted in at least 105 deaths in since early September.
“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,” Trump said. “Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So, we hit them very hard.”
Trump provided no further details in the interview.
Previously, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or one of the U.S. military’s social media accounts would typically announce each boat strike in a post on , yet no post has been made about a strike on a facility.
On Monday, the Pentagon directed inquiries to the White House, which did not promptly reply to a request for further details. Venezuela’s government press office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s statements.
Trump he may carry out land strikes in South America, in Venezuela or potentially another country, and in recent weeks has stated the U.S. would move beyond targeting boats and .”
In October, Trump confirmed he had to carry out covert operations in Venezuela. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Alongside the strikes, the U.S. has deployed warships, bolstered military presence in the region, and .
The Trump administration has stated it is in and aims to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States.
Venezuelan President has maintained that the true objective of U.S. military operations is to oust him from power.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said published this month that Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro ‘cries uncle.'”