Eyewitnesses describe mysterious explosion in northwest Venezuela

A firsthand account of an explosion along the Venezuelan coast on Dec. 18 is raising questions about who may have been responsible for the attack and whether it was connected to the U.S.’ escalating pressure campaign against the South American country

A firsthand account of an explosion along the Venezuelan coast on Dec. 18 is raising questions about who may have been responsible for the attack and whether it was connected to the U.S.’ escalating pressure campaign against the South American country.

The arid coastal strip in the northwest of Venezuela, known as Alta Guajira, is heavily controlled by the National Liberation Army, or Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) in Spanish, an armed guerilla group known for its history of drug trafficking that is also active in neighboring Colombia.

Two members of Venezuela’s Wayuu indigenous community in the area told NBC News that they witnessed an unexplained explosion on Dec. 18 that destroyed a hut that possibly was used for storage.

President Donald Trump said in an interview with WABC radio in New York last week that the U.S. had “knocked out” a facility tied to Venezuela, a move that would be a major escalation in U.S. military strikes to counter alleged drug-trafficking by the South American country.

NBC News reporting has not established a link between the explosion described by Trump and the explosion described by the eyewitnesses in northwest Venezuela.