Trump Says He Spoke 'Recently' With Venezuela's Maduro but Says 'Not Much Was Accomplished'

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he spoke "very recently" with Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, but indicated the conversation did little to ease tensions between the two countries.

"I spoke with him. Very recently. But not much came of it," Trump told reporters, responding to questions about whether he had recently held direct talks with Maduro.

Trump made the remarks at the start of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Florida residence in which he also referenced what he described as a U.S. military operation targeting drug trafficking infrastructure inside Venezuela. Trump said the operation took place last Wednesday and involved an attack on a pier or dock area allegedly used to load boats with drugs.

"It was along the coastline," Trump said, adding that there was "a big explosion in the area of the pier where the ships load with drugs." He did not specify the location but said that "they load the ships with drugs. So we attack all the ships, and now we attack the area. It's the operations zone, that's where they operate and that zone no longer exists," he said.

Neither the Pentagon nor other U.S. government agencies have confirmed the strike, and Venezuelan authorities have not publicly responded. U.S. military officials have declined to provide details, and the White House has not issued a formal statement. When asked whether the CIA 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 reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the explosion may have been caused by a drone strike conducted by the CIA. If confirmed, it would mark the first known U.S. operation on Venezuelan soil during Trump's second term.

Trump has repeatedly warned that his administration's pressure campaign against Maduro could expand from maritime operations to strikes on land. Since September, the United States has conducted about 30 strikes on boats it says were used for drug smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, operations U.S. officials say have killed more than 100 people.

The Trump administration accuses Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization. Maduro has denied the allegations and accused the United States of using counternarcotics operations as a pretext to undermine his government.