🔗 Share this article US Forces Struck a 'Big Plant' in Venezuela, President Trump Claimed Without Providing Details. Ex-President Trump has stated that US forces struck a "major plant" in Venezuela recently. However, the ex-leader offered no details on the precise purpose or location of the strike, and officials have issued no additional comment from his camp. Vague Comments Offered During a Radio Show "US forces just destroyed – I don't know if you read – they have a big plant, where the vessels come from. Recently, we knocked that out. So we struck them with significant force," Trump reportedly told Republican donor and supermarket owner John Catsimatidis in a recent interview. Possible Implications of a Confirmed Attack If a US military action were to be confirmed, it would represent the initial attack on Venezuelan soil since the US Department of Defense initiated a increase of US military presence in the Caribbean region to interdict narco-trafficking operations that the Trump administration alleges operate under the authority of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The original purpose of the force deployment has transformed into a quarantine aimed at stopping the country's oil exports. Online Video and Official Claims Trump has for some time stated that US forces are ready to expand the operations by striking targets inside Venezuela, a tactic that would in theory require congressional authorization. A clip shared online on 24 December appeared to show an blast allegedly from an industrial zone in a Venezuelan state. Yet, the footage or the site in question has not been corroborated. An administration official allegedly informed a media outlet that the former president was describing a drug facility in his comments. Response and Current Military Posture The Venezuelan government has remained silent on the incident the former president described. Furthermore, there have been no verified accounts from Venezuela regarding it. The deployment of American forces in the region – a posture some have called a naval quarantine – marks the largest naval operation of the Trump era. Administration officials have avoided from describing the operation as a blockade, but have acknowledged that approximately 15,000 troops are stationed across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, including a carrier strike group, advanced fighter jets, and law enforcement vessels to implement existing economic sanctions.