The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered the bombing of a suspected cocaine processing plant in Maracaibo, a city in northwestern Venezuela. Petro wrote on the social media platform X that the site, taking advantage of Maracaibo's coastal location, was used to process cocaine paste. In this way, he insinuated that the facility was operated by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, without providing further details, according to information from Xinhua accessed by the Argentine News Agency (NA). Trump affirmed that the United States had destroyed a "large installation on the coast" of Venezuela the previous week, but did not specify which installation or its exact location, according to reports. Venezuela reported the seizure of more than 65 tons of drugs during 2025. "It is more than 65 tons of drugs seized in different procedures, demonstrating that Venezuela plays a decisive role in the fight against drug trafficking," detailed Padrino López, as disseminated by the Ministry of Defense on its social networks. Padrino López added that during 2025, 156 camps of irregular groups linked to crime and drug trafficking in border areas with Colombia were dismantled. The military commands of Venezuela's regions and defense zones presented a report on their work over the past few hours, and in the case of the Western Integral Defense Strategic Region (REDI), its actions against drug trafficking were highlighted. The commander of Western REDI, Pedro González Ovalles, emphasized that in the regions under his command, 52,885 kilograms of drugs were seized, which "criminals" are trying to move through the states of Zulia, Falcón, and Lara, all in the northwest of the country. González Ovalles expressed that, in the case of the so-called "Operation Catatumbo Lightning," actions managed to destroy 45 clandestine camps, 40 logistical structures, 35 laboratories, and a clandestine airstrip. He added that with the aforementioned operation, which is mainly carried out in border zones with Colombia, it was also possible to seize three semi-submersibles (artisanal submarines), 71 vessels, and 223 firearms.
