Name: U.S. ramps up pressure on Venezuela
Uploaded: 2025-12-30T15:05:16.278Z
Duration: 4 min 8 s
Description: President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Venezuela, going from attacking drug boats to striking the shoreline.

President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Venezuela, going from attacking drug boats to striking the shoreline.

Washington

The United States has increased pressure on Venezuela by reportedly carrying out its first land strike against a facility used for drug shipments, following previous operations targeting boats and oil tankers in international waters. President Trump did not specify whether the strike was conducted by the military or the CIA, and the Pentagon referred inquiries to the White House.

The Trump administration also continues its tough stance on Iran, with President Trump warning of further action if Iran ramps up its ballistic missile program. Iranian President Massoud Pardeshian declared his country is in a 'full-fledged war' with the U.S., Israel, and Europe, and warned of decisive retaliation if provoked. The legality of the U.S. operations in Venezuela has been questioned by critics, including Senator Rand Paul, but the administration maintains it is acting within its legal rights.

U.S. ramps up pressure on Venezuela

The U.S. is stepping up pressure on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as President Trump announces what he calls a major turning point in the fight against narco-terrorism. Yeah, Madeline Rivera has more on this from Washington. The U.S. has conducted most of its operation in international waters, from targeting boats that they say are carrying drugs to seizing oil tankers. But it appears the U.S. has carried out the first known land strike in Venezuela. The president giving more details about something he first mentioned last week in a radio interview, saying they hit a facility where ships come from. There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So 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. The president did not say whether the strike was conducted by the military or the CIA. The Pentagon referred our questions to the White House. Meantime, the president is also continuing his tough talk against Hamas. One of the issues he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covered in their meeting yesterday. We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarmament and they're gonna be given a very short period of time to disarm and we'll see how that works out. Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that from our side, but if they don't disarm as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then they'll be held to pay. President Trump is also not ruling out more military action against Iran. Netanyahu is reportedly concerned Iran may be ramping up production of its ballistic missile program. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, and I hope they're not doing it because we don't want to waste the fuel on a B-2. It's a 37-hour trip both ways. All right, Madeline Rivera now joins us live. Madeline, I know that your packages are covered a lot, but what are critics saying about the legality of these strikes on Venezuelan boats and our land? Well, there's a lot of criticism on both sides here. A lot more from Democrats who are questioning whether the Trump administration has the legality to carry out these operations. Notably, I think of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who has criticized the actions that the U.S. has been taking, saying that it's bringing us closer to war against Venezuela, but the Trump administration maintains that they are on solid legal grounds, saying that they are in armed conflict with drug cartels, Gabriella. On the Iran issue, Madeline, before we let you go there, has the president said anything about this? I know Iran has had some characterization of them being at war with the U.S. at this point. Yeah, Iran's president, Massoud Pardeshian, said over the weekend through Iranian state media that his country is in a full-fledged war against the U.S., Israel, and Europe. And he's talking about it more, saying that their country is being besieged at all sides, talking about how they are being attacked both security-wise, also economically, saying that they're being hit really from all different angles. And so that's what he's talking about. So Iran's president says that if Israel takes any sort of action, or if the U.S. does, that they will be responding with a decisive force. President Trump, rather, for now has been sticking to this strong language. You know, you heard him, obviously, in the package saying there that if Iran does ramp up production of its ballistic missile program, that the U.S. won't hesitate to take more action, whether that's backing Israel or so, if they carry out more strikes against Iran. It is a different tone than what the president said earlier this year, where he maintained time and time again that the ballistic missile program, those three Iranian nuclear facilities that they struck in June, he said that they were completely obliterated. And now they say if Iran is rebuilding those assets again, that they'll act once again, that the U.S. will act again. All right, Madeleine, thank you for the update there.

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