By- Paramita Datta
The President of the United States mentioned the US Military had attacked a dock in Venezuela waters, where boats were loaded with drugs and shipped to the United States. This marked the first ever land strike by the U.S Military in The Latin American Country. This comes as the latest attack by the US Military since the past four months. It further stated that this strike killed at least 2 people.
During a radio interview on Friday, President Trump spoke about the strike, and after being asked by reporters on Monday about the explosion in the city, he revealed about their attack on the boats.
According to Trump, the place that used to carry out these activities had been destroyed and no longer exists. He declined to say that the U.S Military or the CIA were ordered to carry out the strike. Trump said he knew exactly who it was but did not want to say the person’s name and further added that it happened along the shore.
There was no immediate response from the Venezuelan Government about the attack and no independent reports came from the country confirming the attack. The claim came as the administration increased the pressure on the anti-drug smuggling operations bound to the United States.
Caracas mentioned that it does not involve itself in drug trafficking and also claimed that Washington tried to remove President Nicolas Maduro to take control of Venezuelan reserves which are the largest in the world.
According to the Trump administration the U.S. strikes since September have killed at least 107 narco – terrorists. These attacks have been viewed as illegal and described as extrajudicial killings and the strikes are linked to the growing U.S. Military presence.
The events align with a notable increase in US military presence featuring over 15,000 troops stationed and numerous oil tankers captured due to a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan shipping ordered by Trump. Trump has consistently hinted at intensifying US operations to execute strikes in Venezuela and recently mentioned that assaults would soon go beyond ships. He admitted that in October the CIA received authorization to carry out covert activities in the nation. The agency did not comment on his recent statements, while chief of staff Susie Wiles mentioned that Trump intends to continue targeting boats until Maduro submits.