🔗 Share this article US Military Targeted a 'Big Facility' in Venezuela, President Trump Asserted Lacking Providing Specifics. Ex-President Donald Trump has claimed that US forces hit a "major plant" in Venezuela in recent days. But, the former president did not specify the exact nature or site of the target, and officials have issued no further clarification from his team. Vague Remarks Made In a Talk Interview "We just eliminated – I don't know if you heard – they have a major complex, where the vessels come from. The other night, we destroyed it. So we targeted them with significant force," Trump allegedly informed Republican donor and businessman John Catsimatidis in a recent interview. Possible Significance of a Verified Strike If a US military action is verified, it would mark the first land strike since the US Department of Defense initiated a increase of American military presence in the region to interdict drug traffickers that the Trump administration claims operate under the direction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This original mission of the military buildup has transformed into a quarantine aimed at disrupting the country's crude oil shipments. Online Footage and Administration Statements Trump has for some time stated that US forces are ready to expand the military campaign by attacking objectives within Venezuela, a strategy that would theoretically require congressional authorization. Video footage posted online on 24 December seemed to depict an detonation reportedly from an industrial zone in a Venezuelan state. Yet, the footage or the facility has not been corroborated. An source reportedly informed a news network that the former president was describing a narco-trafficking site in his remarks. Reaction and Ongoing Military Situation The Venezuelan government has not commented on the event the former president referenced. Furthermore, there have been no verified accounts from within the country concerning it. The deployment of American forces in the region – a position some have termed a sea blockade – marks the largest maritime enforcement action of his time in office. Officials have avoided from describing the action as a full blockade, but have stated that about 15,000 personnel are deployed across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, including a aircraft carrier group, F-35 aircraft, and law enforcement vessels to uphold existing sanctions.