🔗 Share this article US Forces Struck a 'Big Facility' in Venezuela, President Trump Stated Lacking Providing Details. Ex-President Donald Trump has asserted that US forces struck a "significant facility" in the South American country in recent days. But, the former president withheld information about the exact nature or location of the strike, and there has been no further comment from his administration. Unspecific Remarks Made In a Radio Interview "US forces just knocked out – I'm not sure if you saw – they have a big plant, where the vessels originate. The other night, we knocked that out. So we struck them with significant force," Trump allegedly told GOP supporter and supermarket owner John Catsimatidis in a recent interview. Possible Significance of a Verified Strike Should a American strike were to be verified, it would constitute the initial ground target hit since the Pentagon initiated a buildup of US strike forces in the Caribbean region to interdict narco-trafficking operations that the Trump administration alleges operate under the orders of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The stated objective of the military buildup has evolved into a quarantine aimed at stopping the country's oil exports. Social Media Footage and Administration Claims Trump has for weeks stated that US forces are prepared to expand the operations by hitting targets inside Venezuela, a strategy that would theoretically require congressional approval. Online video posted online on 24 December purportedly showed an blast reportedly from an industrial area in a Venezuelan state. However, the video or the site in question has not been corroborated. An official from Trump's team allegedly informed a news network that the president was describing a narco-trafficking site in his comments. Response and Current Strategic Posture The Venezuelan government has not commented on the incident the former president referenced. Additionally, there have been no verified accounts from Venezuela about it. The deployment of American forces in the area – a stance certain officials have termed a maritime "quarantine" – marks the most expansive maritime enforcement action of the Trump era. Administration officials have refrained from describing the operation as a blockade, but have acknowledged that about 15,000 service members are deployed across the Caribbean and the Gulf, including a carrier strike group, F-35 aircraft, and law enforcement vessels to uphold existing economic sanctions.