In a significant escalation of tensions with Caracas, US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American forces have carried out their first known direct military strike on Venezuelan territory, targeting a major facility he linked to maritime activity.
Speaking on the Cats Roundtable radio show with host John Catsimatidis, Trump announced the operation but provided scant details. "They have a big plant, or a big facility, where the ships come from," the president said. "Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard." The US Department of Defense and Venezuelan authorities have not yet released statements confirming the target's nature or location.
The Latest Move in a Four-Month Pressure Campaign
The strike represents a sharp intensification of a multi-faceted pressure campaign the Trump administration launched against the government of President Nicolás Maduro about four months ago. Initially framed as an effort to stem the flow of illegal narcotics from Venezuela, the campaign has broadened significantly.
A central component has been the interdiction of Venezuelan oil shipments. US forces have seized multiple oil tankers in international waters in recent weeks, accusing Caracas of using the fleet to circumvent crippling American economic sanctions. In response, Venezuela's National Assembly, controlled by Maduro's party, swiftly passed a new law last week criminalizing actions that hinder national navigation and commerce, directly targeting the US seizures.
A Stiffening Warning and Domestic Political Alignments
President Trump issued a stark warning to Maduro alongside the strike confirmation. "If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough," Trump stated, signaling readiness for further escalation.
The administration's hardline stance has found support within Venezuela from figures in the political opposition. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader María Corina Machado has publicly endorsed Trump's policy, including the tanker seizures. Both Machado and Trump have repeatedly predicted that Maduro's time in power is nearing its end.
This direct military action marks a critical juncture in US-Venezuela relations, moving beyond sanctions and maritime interdiction to overt kinetic force. The international community now watches to see how the Maduro government will respond and whether this marks the beginning of a more sustained military confrontation.
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