Chemical plant explosion in Venezuela: Primazol denies US involvement Photo

The Venezuelan chemical company Primazol on December 29 “categorically rejected” suggestions that the United States was involved in the explosion at its facility.

“We responsibly state that these claims have no connection whatsoever to the incident in question and do not correspond to any official or verified information,” the company said. Primazol declined to specify the cause of the explosion, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

A fire broke out at the chemical plant in the Maracaibo area on December 24. Social media posts and statements, including those by US President Donald Trump, had suggested that the US Air Force was responsible for the incident.

Authorities confirmed that the fire was caused by an accident at the plant, and there were no casualties. There is also no evidence linking Primazol to organised crime, and the company has never appeared on US Treasury or State Department sanctions lists.

The state of Zulia, where the plant is located, has long been considered a key transit route for cocaine and other drugs.

Trump, however, said the United States had carried out a strike on a “dock area” in Venezuela, indicating that American forces had operated directly on the country’s territory.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where the boats are loaded with drugs,” the president said when asked about the strike carried out on December 29, ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We destroyed all the boats and then struck…the implementation area. That is where they carry out their operations, and it no longer exists,” Trump added.

The president did not clarify whether US armed forces or the CIA were involved in the attack and declined to confirm whether additional strikes had taken place.

By Sabina Mammadli