Trump confirms Venezuelan strike

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – The U.S. carried out a strike in Venezuela, leading to a major explosion, targeting a “dock area” allegedly used to load boats with drugs, according to President Donald Trump.

The president commented in response to reporters as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida Monday afternoon.

Trump described the site as an “implementation area,” adding that it is “no longer around.”

Confirmation of the strike comes as the president confirmed to reporters that he has recently spoken to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, adding that not much came out of the conversation.

The explosion would mark the first known land strike the U.S. has made against Venezuela since the Trump administration began ramping up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.

The president wouldn’t comment on whether or not the attack was carried out by the CIA, adding that he knows who it was, but would not disclose whether it was the intelligence agency or a military strike.

The administration has increased its military presence in the region, deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the area in support of ongoing operations. Dozens of boats suspected of trafficking drugs have been struck off the coast of the South American country.

According to multiple reports, the strike was carried out on Christmas Eve, marking the second foreign strike the U.S. made in a 24-hour period, including strikes against Islamic State sites in Nigeria on Christmas Day.