Trump claims US recently took out 'big facility' tied to Latin America drug trafficking

President Donald Trump recently hinted that U.S. operations against Venezuela escalated last week, stating that the United States took out a "big facility" in the Latin American country.

The U.S. has been hinting at expanding its operations against Venezuelan drug cartels to include land attacks, but the comment last week marked the first potential operation on Venezuelan soil. 

Trump did not specify that the U.S. strike was in Venezuela, but he was speaking Friday about his administration's broader effort against Latin American drug trafficking, according to Fox News. 

"They have a big plant or a big facility where the ships come from," Trump told radio host John Catsimitidis. "Two nights ago we knocked that out."

The president told reporters Monday at Mar-a-Lago that the strike was "along the shore," but did not state whether the operation was carried out by the CIA or the U.S. military.

"We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area," he said. "It’s the implementation area ... that is no longer around. [There was] a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs."

The news comes as Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has launched over two dozen strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats since September, killing at least 105 people. It has also created a blockade of Venezuela and seized two ships carrying sanctioned oil earlier this month.

Trump also authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela earlier this year, but the country has not publicly commented on the alleged attack so far.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.