The United States has hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuela drug boats, President Donald Trump said today.
It could amount to the first land strike of the military campaign against trafficking from Latin America.
His confirmation of the incident comes as he ramps up pressure against Venezuela鈥檚 leftist President Nicolas Maduro, who has accused Trump of seeking regime change.
鈥淭here was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,鈥 he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
鈥淪o we hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it鈥檚 the implementation area, that鈥檚 where they implement. And that is no longer around.鈥
The US leader would not say if it was a military or CIA operation or where the strike occurred, saying only that it was 鈥渁long the shore鈥.
Asked if he had spoken to Maduro recently, following an earlier phone call in November, Trump said they had talked 鈥減retty recently鈥 but said that 鈥渘othing much comes out of it鈥.
Trump had been asked to elaborate on apparent throwaway comments he made in a radio interview broadcast at the weekend that seemed to mention a land strike for the first time.
鈥淭hey have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from,鈥 Trump told billionaire supporter John Catsimatidis on the WABC radio station in New York.
鈥淭wo nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.鈥
Trump did not say in the interview where the facility was located or give any other details.
There has been no official comment from the Venezuelan Government.
The Pentagon earlier referred questions to the White House. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
Trump has been threatening for weeks that ground strikes on drug cartels in the region would start 鈥渟oon鈥 but this is the first apparent example.
US forces have also carried out numerous strikes in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing more than 100 people.
Rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings, a charge Washington denies.
The Trump Administration has accused Maduro of running a drug cartel himself. The US has also imposed an oil tanker blockade.
-Agence France-Presse
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