Trump confirms US strike destroyed Venezuelan dock linked to drug trafficking

US President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States had destroyed a docking facility in Venezuela allegedly used by drug traffickers, a development that could mark the first reported land-based strike in Washington’s expanding anti-narcotics campaign in Latin America.

Trump disclosed the operation while speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as his administration intensifies pressure on Venezuela’s leftist leader, President Nicolas Maduro.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said.

“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.”

The US president did not clarify whether the operation was conducted by the military or the CIA, nor did he reveal the exact location of the strike, saying only that it occurred “along the shore.”

However, sources familiar with the matter told CNN and The New York Times that the CIA carried out a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela. According to the reports, the operation was believed to be aimed at the Tren de Aragua gang.

No casualties were recorded, as no individuals were present at the site at the time of the strike.

There has been no official response from the Venezuelan government. The Pentagon earlier redirected inquiries to the White House, while the White House did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.

Asked whether he had recently spoken with President Maduro, Trump said they had talked “pretty recently,” adding that “nothing much comes out of it.”

Trump had earlier hinted at such an operation during a radio interview aired on Friday, where he appeared to reference a land strike for the first time.

“They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from,” he said during an interview with WABC radio host John Catsimatidis.

“Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.”

He did not disclose the facility’s location or provide further details during the interview.

For weeks, Trump has warned that ground strikes against drug cartels in the region would begin “soon,” but Monday’s remarks appear to be the first confirmation of such an action.

Meanwhile, US forces have continued maritime operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting vessels Washington claims are involved in drug smuggling. The administration has not publicly provided evidence linking the boats to narcotics trafficking, raising questions about the legality of the strikes.

Rights groups and international law experts have argued that the operations could amount to extrajudicial killings, an allegation US officials reject.

Following Trump’s comments on Monday, the US military announced on social media that it had conducted another strike on a boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people and bringing the reported death toll in the maritime campaign to at least 107.

The military did not disclose the exact location of the latest strike.

The Trump administration has continued to escalate pressure on Maduro, accusing him of running a drug cartel and enforcing an oil tanker blockade against Venezuela.

AFP