President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. forces recently destroyed a facility in Venezuela linked to maritime activity, a claim that has not been announced by the U.S. government or foreign officials.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with talk radio host John Catsimatidis on The Cats & Cosby Show. He described the target as a “big plant or big facility” where ships originate, saying, “Two nights ago, we knocked that out.”
The president did not provide a location, name the facility, or offer supporting details.
As Mediaite reporter Willa Pope Robbins noted, Trump’s statement appears to be the only public account of such an operation. No confirmation has come from the Pentagon, U.S. Southern Command, or the Venezuelan government.
U.S. officials speaking to The New York Times said Trump appeared to be referring to a drug-related facility in Venezuela that had been destroyed, though the report did not cite on-the-record confirmation or operational specifics:
While some officials called the facility struck a drug production site, it is not clear what role in narcotics trafficking the facility would have played. Venezuela is well known for its role in trafficking drugs, especially cocaine produced in Colombia, but has not been a major producer of narcotics.
Mr. Trump has been promising strikes on land in Venezuela for weeks, part of an intensifying pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, who is under indictment in the United States for his role in the drug trade.
Mr. Trump authorized the C.I.A. to begin planning covert operations inside Venezuela months ago.
The U.S. military has stepped up its naval and troop presence in the Caribbean under a counter-narcotics mission unveiled in September.
The campaign has included airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific and a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers. While officials have discussed possible land-based targets, there is no confirmed U.S. land strike on Venezuelan facilities as of publication.
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“a claim that has not been announced by the U.S. government”
Donald Trump IS the U.S. government.