US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States had struck a port area in Venezuela.
"There was a big explosion in the port area where the ships are loading drugs," Trump told reporters. He added that the US had hit not only the ships but also the area itself, where he said the drugs were being "implemented".
It is not yet clear what exact target the missiles hit, nor which branch of the US government carried out the operation. Asked if the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was behind the attack, Trump gave a evasive answer. "I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was," he said.
However, according to CNN, the CIA carried out a drone attack on a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast in early December. U.S. authorities believed the facility was being used by the Tren de Aragua gang to store drugs and transship them onto ships for onward transport. CNN sources say no one was in the facility at the time of the attack and there were no casualties.
Two CNN sources also said U.S. Special Forces provided intelligence support to the operation. However, a spokesman for the US Special Operations Command denied this.
The CIA, the White House and the Pentagon all declined to comment on the matter.
The Venezuelan government has not yet publicly commented on the incident, and no independent reports have come out of the country to confirm Trump's claims. The Primazol chemical plant in the state of Zulia, which was engulfed by fire on Christmas Eve, denied speculation that it was the facility Trump was referring to. However, residents in the area reported an explosion, fire and the smell of chlorine, according to Reuters.
The attack fits into the Trump administration's broader strategy of increasing pressure on President Nicolás Maduro in recent months. The United States has already destroyed more than 30 ships suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and has significantly bolstered its military presence in the region.
US officials claim that this is a counter-narcotics campaign, but part of the administration openly admits that there is a political objective as well. Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, has said in the past that the attacks were intended to force Maduro to capitulate. However, the Venezuelan leader has so far shown no sign that he is willing to relinquish power.
(reuters, cnn, pir)