From PBS NewsHour.
President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. blew up a storage facility, following repeated threats against Venezuela over drug trafficking.
It has not been confirmed exactly where the strike occurred but Trump announced the strike on Monday, saying "There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs."
“They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement, and that is no longer around," he added.
Trump has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who faces narcoterrorism charges in the U.S.
Trump said the target was on the shore. If confirmed it happened in Venezuela, it would mark the first time the Trump administration has struck land. CNN, The New York Times and others reported that the explosion — which happened earlier this month — was a drone attack on a storage site. Officials said it belonged to the criminal organization known as Tren de Aragua, and they believed it was being used to store and ship narcotics.
No fatalities were reported and the government of Venezuela has not confirmed the attack.
The revelation came as the U.S. confirmed another deadly military strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, bringing the total to 30 such strikes this year.
Trump has claimed the attacks, which have killed at least 107 people, are necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and to fight “narcoterrorism.” But experts have questioned the legal basis for these strikes.
The Trump administration has also seized oil tankers in recent weeks, in possible violation of international maritime law.
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