Trump says that the U.S. would have destroyed a drug trafficking facility on Venezuelan territory

The U.S. president Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. blew up a “large facility” linked to drug trafficking in Venezuelan territory.

“Just recently we dismantled —I don’t know if you read or saw— that they have a large facility, or a large installation, from where the ships come. Two nights ago, we took it apart. So we dealt a very hard blow,” Trump said on John Catsimatidis' radio show, the main Republican donor.

The magnate did not provide further details about the incident.

This Monday, at Mar-a-Lago, when questioned by reporters, Trump said that "there was a large explosion in the area of the dock where boats load drugs" and that an "implementation area" "was no longer available."

The president did not want to clarify whether it was a CIA operation or the military: “I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say who it was. But, you know, it was on the shore.”

A government official told CNN that it would involve a drug operation, but declined to provide further details about the action.

The Venezuelan regime has not commented on this matter.

Oil blockade

Last Tuesday, a supertanker loaded with Venezuelan crude returned to the waters of Venezuela after the United States intercepted several vessels in the Caribbean.

The maritime tracking service TankerTrackers.com, cited by Reuters, reported that the vessel Kelly, flying the Panamanian flag, departed last week from Venezuela along with Centuries, another tanker from the same country, both escorted by ships from the Venezuelan Navy.

However, the Kelly is now again in waters near the port of Amuay, in the Falcón state, where the state oil company PDVSA operates its refinery, according to tracking data.

The United States Coast Guard intercepted the Centuries about a week ago, which was carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of heavy crude Merey, and is pursuing another empty vessel heading towards Venezuela, a member of OPEC.

More than a dozen loaded vessels remain in Venezuelan waters awaiting further instructions, after the United States seized the supertanker Skipper in early December.

Subsequently, they carried out two other interceptions, the Centuries and Bella-1, the latter related to the company Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises, which is in turn linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.