Trump says US carried out strike on Venezuelan drug boat “dock area”

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States has carried out an attack on Venezuelan maritime infrastructure, marking the first U.S. strike within the borders of the South American country.

Speaking with reporters, Trump said the US “hit” a dock in Venezuela, alleging it was used to load drugs onto boats.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said.

The strike is an escalation of the ongoing tensions in the Caribbean in Trump’s first year.The administration has carried out numerous missile strikes on boats suspected of transporting illegal narcotics. Physical evidence for the claims of drug-running has not been forthcoming, though the president did declare fentanyl to be a “weapon of mass destruction.”

Trump provided no evidence of the dock area being used for loading drugs. He did say that the area struck was an “implementation area.”

“We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump said. “That’s where they implement, and that is no longer around.”

When asked if the CIA had was involved in the attack, Trump demurred. “I don’t want to say that. I know exactly who it was but I don’t want to say who it was.” In October, Trump gave the CIA the green light to conduct operations within Venezuela.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Earlier this month, Trump claimed that Venezuela was under a blockade, saying the country is “totally surrounded” by US pressure.

“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before,” Trump said.

Venezuelan officials called it “a grotesque threat.”