Former US President Donald Trump has publicly asserted that American military forces carried out a significant strike on Venezuelan soil last week, though he provided scant details and the claim remains unverified by the White House.
Vague Claims from Mar-a-Lago
Speaking during a conversation with Republican donor John Catsimatidis on Friday 28 December, Trump made the surprising declaration from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. "We just knocked out – I don’t know if you read or you saw – they have a big plant, or a big facility, where the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard," Trump stated.
The former president did not specify the exact location or nature of the target. An unnamed administration official later told CNN that Trump was referring to a drug facility in his comments. However, the Venezuelan government has issued no statement on such an incident, and there have been no independent corroborating reports from within the country.
Potential First Land Strike and Military Buildup
If confirmed, this would represent the first land strike on Venezuela since the Pentagon initiated a major buildup of US forces in the Caribbean region. The Trump administration has framed this military posture, which it calls a maritime "quarantine," as an effort to interdict drug traffickers it claims operate under the direction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The operation has since evolved beyond its initial stated purpose. It now functions as a blockade aimed at disrupting Venezuela's oil exports, targeting a global shadow fleet of tankers outside the licensed operations of Chevron. Approximately 15,000 US personnel, including a carrier strike group, F-35 fighter jets, and Coast Guard cutters, are positioned across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to enforce existing sanctions.
Unverified Footage and Escalating Rhetoric
The claims follow online video footage posted on 24 December that appeared to show an explosion in the industrial zone of the San Francisco municipality in Zulia state. This video and the alleged facility have not been independently verified.
Trump has for weeks warned of readiness to expand the military campaign by striking targets inside Venezuela, a move that would typically require congressional authorisation. Experts have criticised the administration's actions, labelling its claims on Venezuelan oil as part of a broader pattern of 'resource imperialism'.
The current US military deployment marks the most expansive maritime enforcement action of Trump's presidency, significantly escalating pressure on the Maduro regime amid a prolonged political and economic crisis.
