In a recent statement on social media, Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed to have information about what he described as one of the first U.S. ground attacks in Venezuela. The claim follows comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said in an interview that he had ordered an attack on a facility linked to drug trafficking in Venezuela.
“We know that Trump bombed a factory in Maracaibo; we fear they mix coca paste there to make cocaine and take advantage of the location on the Maracaibo sea,” Petro wrote on his X account.
The Venezuelan government has not commented publicly on these claims. However, Venezuelan press reports indicated that a strong explosion occurred early on December 24 at the Primazol company, located in San Francisco municipality, Zulia state, near Colombia’s border. The plant is situated about three kilometers from Lake Maracaibo’s coast, an important commercial and logistical waterway.
In his post, Petro also suggested that Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) could be responsible for operating the laboratory allegedly targeted in the attack and warned that their criminal activities might prompt U.S. intervention. “It is simply the ELN. The ELN is allowing with its trafficking and mental dogma to invade Venezuela,” he said.
A source associated with Venezuela’s United Socialist Party told Colombian outlet El Tiempo that it was “a lie” that the United States was involved in the incident. Nevertheless, U.S. officials cited by The New York Times stated that Trump was indeed referring to a facility connected to drug trafficking in Venezuela.
Addressing allegations against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Petro said: “I do not know if Maduro has illegitimately taken wealth out of Venezuela; in our country there is no evidence of drug trafficking by him. The generals we proved were dealing cocaine were part of sedition with support from the Colombian government, seeking a coup in Caracas.”
Petro also announced plans to share more details soon about his relationship with Hugo Chávez’s progressive movement and his disappointments regarding its legacy after Chávez’s death.
Additionally, Petro criticized recent sanctions imposed by Washington against him: “Trump has been led to believe I am Maduro’s front man and hence his latest references to me; I thought U.S. intelligence was more professional or that if it is so, then the president does not listen to it and surrounds himself with far-right greedy people who do not seek the truth,” he added.
