President Donald Trump has announced that the US has conducted a strike on a dock area associated with alleged Venezuelan drug boats. Speaking in Florida, he described a major explosion that occurred last week, indicating it was a location where drugs were loaded onto boats. Specific details regarding the location of the strike or the involvement of the US military or CIA remain undisclosed.
As of now, the Venezuelan government has not issued any response, and the circumstances surrounding whether the strike occurred within Venezuelan territory are also unclear. Following the strike, which is part of a broader US campaign against drug trafficking, the US has reportedly targeted more than 20 vessels linked to drug smuggling since September, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 individuals.
The latest operation, according to the US Southern Command, was executed on Monday and led to the death of two narco-terrorists in a tactical strike in the eastern Pacific. Trump has previously suggested the possibility of land strikes within Venezuela to exert pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.
When asked by reporters if the CIA had conducted the attack, Trump opted not to disclose the details but claimed to know who was responsible, alluding to the severity of the actions taken against drug trafficking operations.
In a previous interview, Trump referred to an operation targeting a big facility linked to drug trafficking, though he provided limited information. The Pentagon has directed inquiries regarding the strike to the White House, which has yet to respond.
The Trump administration has consistently characterized its military actions against vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific as counter-terrorism efforts against drug trafficking networks. Currently, around 15,000 US troops, along with various naval assets, are deployed in the Caribbean, marking the largest military mobilization in the region since the 1989 Panama invasion.
The stated objective of this deployment is to halt the flow of fentanyl and cocaine into the United States. Among the naval vessels involved is the USS Gerald Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, with reports indicating US helicopters launched operations to seize an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast recently.
The US administration has accused the Venezuelan government of channeling oil revenues to support drug-related criminal activities, while officials in Venezuela condemn such actions as acts of piracy. Maduro has refuted claims of leading a drug cartel, suggesting that the US's war on drugs is a pretext for intervention in Venezuelan affairs.
Responding to questions about the potential aims behind seizing Venezuelan resources, Trump suggested that such moves could indeed pressure Maduro into relinquishing power, emphasizing that the final decision rests with the Venezuelan leader.
