President Donald Trump, standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the press on Monday that he ordered an attack on Venezuela on Christmas Eve. In his rambling, Trump suggested that a "major explosion" occurred at a "dock area" in Maracaibo, Venezuela, which he claims was linked to Tren de Aragua and is "where they load the boats."
However, claims from civilian sources in the city and the company that was targeted cast doubt on the bombing. Analysts relying on open-source data are also casting doubts about the attack.
"We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area," said Trump on Monday. "It's the implementation area. That's where they implement, and that is no longer around."
The company, Primazol, reported that on December 24, an "incident occurred" in a warehouse near the dock facility, resulting in a small blast and a fire, which was immediately contained. No injuries or deaths were reported, and the damage is considered minimal for a port location. The company imports raw materials for Venezuela's manufacturing and industrial sectors. Trump's accusations suggest Primazol is somehow involved in drug smuggling operations.
"Primazol reports that an incident occurred at one of our facilities in the early morning of December 24th," said a press release (translated). "Our team and the Fire Department responded immediately, activating established safety protocols. The incident was brought under control promptly, with no injuries. Currently, cleanup and assessment operations are underway in coordination with the relevant authorities," continued the statement. "We categorically reject the rumors circulating on social media that seek to damage the reputation of our founder and the organization. We responsibly clarify that these claims are completely unrelated to the incident and are neither official nor verified information."
Additionally, as is typical of drone strikes conducted by a country that loves to brag about blowing stuff (and people) up, as of this writing, no video is available, as we have seen with boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. The Venezuelan government has not commented on the alleged attack, nor has the CIA, suggesting the possibility of more psychological warfare in an attempt to get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down, or an attempt to cover for Trump's potentially delusional comments that were not based on any facts.
Regardless, Maduro declared a state of emergency to defend the nation from "aggression by the American empire." Currently, Venezuela has troops amassed at the coast and along its border with Colombia, where the US has a military presence operating on joint counter-narcotics operations from several Colombian military bases. The Venezuelan government has also activated its citizen militia of more than an estimated 4 million armed civilians.
Here's What I Think Happened
An explosion in Maracaibo was detected on December 24. Somehow, it became part of a conversation in the White House, and Trump took that conversation and claimed the US was behind it and attacked Venezuela. In an effort to save face, people "familiar with the situation" talked to the usual suspects in legacy media, in this case, CNN and the NY Times. It was then reported as fact without much, if any, scrutiny. This is all speculation, of course.
Meanwhile, the rest of us seeking confirmation or evidence of an attack are met with silence and disregard from government agencies and the White House. As suspicion about the validity of the story spread, the attacks in the corporate news media went from being confirmed to "reported" by the CIA. The story then died down almost as quickly as it took off, leaving much of the public casting even more doubt about the alleged attack.
The reporting has since shifted to Maduro, regime change, and the legality of the strike, should it have occurred. Now, I'm asking: Was Trump's statement made to gauge the public's reaction to an attack on Venezuela? If so, the public is still not on board with supporting an illegal war.
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