President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US had “hit” an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, marking the first known time Washington has carried out land operations in Venezuela since a pressure campaign began against President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said. “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.“

It was not immediately clear what target was hit, nor which part of the US government acted.

Asked if the CIA had carried out the attack, Trump said: “I don’t want to say that.

I know exactly who it was, but I don’t want to say who it was.“

CNN, citing sources, reported that the CIA had carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela, targeting a remote dock the US believed was used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats.

The CIA, White House and Pentagon declined to comment, while Venezuela has not commented on the incident,t and there have been no independent reports from inside the country.

Primazol, a chemical plant in Zulia state that suffered a fire on Christmas Eve, denied rumours that its blaze was linked to Trump’s remarks.

Reuters previously reported that the US was poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations as pressure on Maduro increases.

The US mission has primarily focused on strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels, with congressional scrutiny following incidents,s including one in September where an American strike killed 11 people.

Trump’s administration has overseen a major US military buildup in the Caribbean, including more than 15,000 troops.