US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States had "striked" an area in Venezuela where ships are loaded with drugs, which would mark the first known time the United States has conducted ground operations in Venezuela since the start of a pressure campaign against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
"There was a big explosion in the port area where they load the ships with drugs," Trump said, the Telegraph reports.
"We hit all the ships and now we hit the area is the enforcement area. There they enforce and this is no longer there," the US president added.
It was not immediately clear which target was hit, nor which part of the US government acted.
Asked if the CIA carried out the attack, Trump said: "I don't want to say that. I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was."
Trump has previously said he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
On a radio show last week, Trump made vague comments about an apparent US operation against a "major structure" in Venezuela.
Primazol, a chemical plant in Zulia state that suffered a fire on Christmas Eve, has denied online rumors that the flames were what Trump alluded to in his comments.
The company also said the fire was quickly extinguished and was under investigation. Nearby residents told Reuters they heard an explosion, saw the fire and smelled chlorine.
Venezuela's communications ministry, which handles all press inquiries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The Trump administration has previously touted its success in destroying suspected drug trafficking ships, and the Pentagon has posted footage of some of its strikes on social media.
The lack of response from US national security agencies had raised questions about whether the incident Trump mentioned was carried out covertly. Such an operation is likely to limit the ability of US officials to speak out on the matter. /Telegraph/
