US President Donald Trump says the U.S. “knocked out” a “big facility” last week linked to alleged drug boat operations, although he didn’t offer many details.
President Trump said during a recent radio interview that the U.S. “knocked out” a “big” facility, as the administration continues to turn up the pressure against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
It was not immediately clear which part of the U.S. government acted. Trump declined to say who carried out the latest strike or where it occurred.
Trump first referenced the strike on Friday, when he told radio host John Catsimatidis during a program on WABC radio about the U.S. strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats.
“We just knocked out – I don’t know if you read or you saw – they have a big plant or big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from,” the president told hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on the ‘Cats & Cosby’ show on WABC Radio. “Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So, we hit them very hard.”
It is unclear where the facility is located, how the attack was carried out, or what damage was done.
On Monday, Trump shed some more light on the attack, saying the United States struck an “implementation area.”
“We hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around,” the president said, standing alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump said there was a “major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.”
It is part of an escalating effort to target what the Trump administration says are boats smuggling drugs bound for the United States.
Various media outlets reported that the president was referring to a drug facility in Venezuela. Trump, however, did not offer any additional details either in the radio show on Friday or when questioned by reporters on Monday.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered what he called a “complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela, targeting the government’s main source of revenue.
So far, the U.S. forces have seized two tankers off the coast of Venezuela and pursued a third vessel.
Further ratcheting up pressure on Maduro, Trump said last week it would be “smart” for him to step down when asked if the administration’s ultimate goal in Venezuela is to force him from power.
“Well, I think it probably would. I can’t tell that; that’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re going to find out,” he said to reporters while unveiling a new class of battleships from Mar-a-Lago.
