PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump has signaled that the United States has targeted a dock facility on a coastline as part of his intensified pressure strategy against Venezuela, though specifics from the U.S. remain scarce.
Trump seemed to confirm the action during an off-the-cuff radio interview on Friday. When approached by reporters on Monday about reports of an “explosion in Venezuela,” he remarked that the U.S. had struck a site where boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking were being loaded.
“There was a significant explosion at the dock area where they prepare boats for drug transport,” Trump explained while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida. “They load the vessels with drugs, so we took action against all the boats and subsequently the area. It’s the key implementation zone, and it’s no longer operational.”
This action is a part of an increasing campaign targeting what the Trump administration describes as drug-smuggling vessels en route to the United States. The efforts have shifted closer to the shore, diverging from previous military operations that occurred in international waters of the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Trump refrained from disclosing whether the latest operation was conducted by the U.S. military or the CIA, nor did he confirm if it took place in Venezuela.
“I am fully aware of who was responsible, but I prefer not to disclose that information. However, it did occur along the coastline,” Trump stated.
Trump first referenced the strike on Friday, when he called radio host John Catsimatidis during a program on WABC radio and discussed the U.S. strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats. The attacks have killed at least 105 people in 29 known strikes since early September.
“I don’t know if you read or saw, they have a big plant or a big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from,” Trump said. “Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So, we hit them very hard.”
Trump did not offer any additional details in the interview.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or one of the U.S. military’s social media accounts has in the past typically announced every boat strike in a post on X, but there has been no post of any strike on a facility.
The Pentagon on Monday referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking more details. The press office of Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s statement.
Trump for months has suggested he may conduct land strikes in South America, in Venezuela or possibly another country, and in recent weeks has been saying the U.S. would move beyond striking boats and would strike on land “soon.”
In October, Trump confirmed 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 U.S. has sent warships, built up 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 seeking to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force 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 on blowing boats up until Maduro ‘cries uncle.’”
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
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