Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Listen to this article
About 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually review and improve results.
US President Donald Trump said the United States “hit” a pier along a shoreline as he waged a pressure campaign on Venezuela, but provided few details.
Trump first appeared to confirm a strike in what appeared to be an impromptu radio interview on Friday, and when asked by reporters on Monday about “an explosion in Venezuela,” he said the United States had struck a facility where it was “taking care of” boats accused of transporting drugs.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they were loading the drug boats,” Trump said during his meeting in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They’re loading the boats with drugs, so we hit all the boats and now we’re hitting the area. That’s the implementation area. That’s where they’re implementing. And that’s not there anymore.”
It’s part of a growing effort to target what the Trump administration says are boats carrying drugs bound for the United States. This comes close to the coastal strikes that have been carried out so far by the military in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
CNN, citing sources, reported Monday that the CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela.
The strike targeted a remote dock that the United States said was used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and transport them on boats for shipment, according to CNN.
The US military announced it had carried out a new strike on Monday against a boat accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. The attacks have killed at least 107 people in 30 strikes since the beginning of September, according to figures announced by the Trump administration.
Trump declined to say whether the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the attack on the pier or where it occurred. He did not confirm that this happened in Venezuela.
I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say. But you know it was along the shore,” Trump said.
Trump first referenced the strike on Friday, when he called radio host John Catsimatidis on a show on WABC radio and discussed U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats.
“I don’t know if you’ve read or seen, they have a big factory or a big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from,” Trump said. “Two nights ago we knocked him out. So we hit them really hard.”
Trump did not provide any additional details during the interview.
In recent weeks, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or one of the U.S. military’s social media accounts have typically announced each boat strike in a post on X. But no strikes on any installation have been publicized.
WATCH | Is the United States preparing for war against Venezuela?
What is President Donald Trump’s endgame with repeated US strikes on ships near Venezuela? Andrew Chang analyzes the threats the Trump administration says it is responding to and explains why Venezuela’s relationship with China could also be a factor. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
The Pentagon referred questions Monday to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking more details. The Venezuelan government press service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s statement.
Trump has suggested for months that he might carry out land strikes in South America, Venezuela or possibly another country, and has said in recent weeks that the United States would go beyond ship strikes and strike “soon” on land.
Military reinforcement
In October, Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. The agency did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.
Along with the strikes, the United States sent warships, strengthened its military forces in the region, seized two oil tankers and pursued a third.
The Trump administration has said it is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and seeks to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has insisted that the real aim of US military operations is to remove him from power.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published this month that Trump “wants to keep blowing up boats until Maduro ‘screams uncle’.”
