Former President Trump has asserted that US military assets targeted a "large installation" in Venezuela recently. But, the former president withheld information about the precise purpose or location of the target, and officials have issued no further comment from his team.
"US forces just eliminated – I don't know if you read – they have a major complex, where the ships come from. The other night, we destroyed it. So we struck them decisively," Trump reportedly told GOP supporter and supermarket owner John Catsimatidis on Friday.
If a American military action is verified, it would mark the first land strike since the Pentagon began a buildup of American military presence in the region to halt narco-trafficking operations that the former administration asserts operate under the orders of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
This stated purpose of the force deployment has evolved into a blockade aimed at stopping the nation's crude oil shipments.
Trump has for weeks warned that US forces are poised to expand the operations by hitting objectives within Venezuela, a tactic that would in theory require congressional approval.
Video footage circulated online on 24 December purportedly showed an explosion said to be from an industrial area in a Venezuelan state. But, the footage or the facility has not been confirmed by third parties.
An administration official reportedly told a news network that the president was referring to a drug facility in his remarks.
The Maduro government has remained silent on the event the former president referenced. Additionally, there have been no independent reports from Venezuela about it.
The deployment of US military in the area – a posture certain officials have called a sea blockade – constitutes the broadest naval operation of Trump's presidency.
Administration officials have stopped short from describing the action as a full blockade, but have acknowledged that about 15,000 personnel are stationed across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf, including a carrier strike group, F-35 aircraft, and Coast Guard cutters to implement existing economic sanctions.
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