Overview
- In a Dec. 26 WABC interview, President Trump said the U.S. “knocked out” a “big plant or big facility” two nights earlier.
- U.S. officials said he was referring to a Venezuelan drug facility that was eliminated, but they provided no details on location, method or function.
- The White House, Pentagon and CIA declined comment, and Venezuela and other regional authorities have reported no attack, though unverified videos showed a Dec. 24 explosion near Maracaibo.
- If accurate, the strike would be the first known land operation in the administration’s Venezuela campaign.
- The broader effort has featured repeated strikes on suspected drug boats that killed at least 105 people, seizures of oil tankers, and Trump’s acknowledgment that he authorized CIA covert planning.