PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has \u201chit\u201d a dock facility along a shore as he wages a\u00a0pressure campaign on Venezuela, but the U.S. offered few details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump initially seemed to confirm a strike in what appeared to be an impromptu radio interview Friday, and when questioned Monday by reporters about \u201can explosion in Venezuela,\u201d he said the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs \u201cload up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said as he\u00a0met in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats and now we hit the area. It\u2019s the implementation area. There\u2019s where they implement. And that is no longer around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is part of an escalating effort to target what the Trump administration says are\u00a0boats smuggling drugs\u00a0bound for the United States. It moves closer to shore strikes that so far have been carried out by the military in international waters in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. military said it conducted another strike on Monday against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. The attacks have killed at least 107 people in 30 strikes since early September, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump declined to say if the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the strike on the dock or where it occurred. He did not confirm it happened in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know exactly who it was, but I don\u2019t want to say who it was. But you know it was along the shore,” Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump did not offer any additional details in the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u00a0for months has suggested\u00a0he 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\u00a0would strike on land \u201csoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October, Trump confirmed he had\u00a0authorized the CIA\u00a0to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. The agency did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the strikes, the U.S. has sent warships, built up military forces in the region,\u00a0seized two oil tankers\u00a0and\u00a0pursued a third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has said it is in\u00a0\u201carmed conflict\u201d with drug cartels\u00a0and seeking to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Venezuelan President\u00a0Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u00a0has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said\u00a0in an interview with Vanity Fair\u00a0published this month that Trump \u201cwants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro \u2018cries uncle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"