🔗 Share this article US Forces Struck a 'Big Facility' in Venezuela, President Trump Stated Without Providing Specifics. Ex-President Trump has claimed that American forces targeted a "significant facility" in the South American country in recent days. But, the former president did not specify the exact purpose or location of the strike, and officials have issued no additional comment from his camp. Unspecific Comments Made During a Radio Interview "US forces just knocked out – I don't know if you read – they have a big plant, where the vessels depart from. The other night, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard," Trump reportedly informed Republican donor and businessman John Catsimatidis on Friday. Potential Significance of a Verified Attack If a US strike is verified, it would constitute the initial ground target hit since the US Department of Defense began a expansion of US strike forces in the region to halt drug traffickers that the Trump administration claims operate under the direction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The original mission of the force deployment has evolved into a quarantine aimed at stopping the country's oil exports. Online Footage and Official Claims Trump has for some time warned that American military units are ready to widen the operations by striking targets within Venezuela, a move that would in theory require legislative authorization. A clip shared online on 24 December seemed to depict an detonation reportedly from an industrial area in a Venezuelan state. Yet, the video or the site in question has not been independently verified. An source reportedly informed a media outlet that the former president was referring to a narco-trafficking site in his remarks. Reaction and Current Military Posture The Caracas administration has issued no statement on the alleged strike the former president referenced. Furthermore, there have been no verified accounts from within the country about it. The deployment of American forces in the area – a position some have called a naval quarantine – marks the broadest naval operation of his time in office. Sources have avoided from describing the operation as a full blockade, but have stated that approximately 15,000 personnel are deployed across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, including a carrier strike group, advanced fighter jets, and law enforcement vessels to uphold existing economic sanctions.