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U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed reports that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations within Venezuela and stated he was considering potential strikes targeting drug cartels operating in the region.
In recent weeks, U.S. forces have reportedly executed at least five strikes on vessels suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean, resulting in 27 fatalities. However, UN-appointed human rights experts have characterized these operations as “extrajudicial executions.”
Speaking from the White House, President Trump indicated that the U.S. is “looking at land” as it contemplates further military action in the region.
President Trump has intensified pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela’s leader remains unrecognized by the U.S. and other nations following contested elections.
The augmented U.S. military presence in the region has sparked concerns in Caracas regarding a potential attack.
According to The New York Times, President Trump’s authorization grants the CIA the authority to conduct operations in Venezuela independently or as part of broader U.S. military endeavors.
It remains unclear whether the CIA is actively planning operations within Venezuela or whether these plans are being maintained as contingencies.
During a press briefing in the Oval Office on Wednesday, alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, President Trump addressed questions regarding The New York Times report.
“Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?” a reporter inquired.
“I authorized it for two reasons, really,” President Trump stated, in a rare acknowledgment from a U.S. commander-in-chief regarding a spy agency whose activities are typically conducted in secrecy.
“Number one, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
He added: “And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that, but we’re going to stop them by land also.”
The President declined to comment on whether the CIA authorization would empower the agency to depose President Maduro, for whom the U.S. has offered a $50 million bounty.
“Wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he responded.
In the most recent U.S. strike on Tuesday, six individuals were reportedly killed when a vessel was targeted near the Venezuelan coast.
On Truth Social, President Trump stated that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known” drug-trafficking corridor.
Similar to previous strikes, U.S. officials have not disclosed which drug-trafficking organization allegedly operated the vessel, nor the identities of those on board.
In response, President Maduro ordered military exercises in the Caracas suburb of Petare and in neighboring Miranda state on Wednesday.
In a Telegram message, he announced the mobilization of the military, police, and civilian militia to defend Venezuela and “win at peace.”
The Socialist leader has accused the U.S. of plotting regime change following allegations that he rigged the South American nation’s presidential election last year.
Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez also adopted a defiant stance on television on Wednesday.
He said “let no aggressor dare because they know that here is the people of [Venezuelan liberator Simón] Bolívar, that here is the people of our ancestors with their swords raised to defend us under any circumstance”.
Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused the U.S. of scheming to “rob” the oil-rich country “of its immense natural resources,” according to AFP news agency reports.
President Trump has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and fighter jets to the Caribbean, which the White House claims is an effort to combat drug smuggling.
In a leaked memo recently sent to U.S. lawmakers, the administration stated it had determined its involvement in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug-trafficking organizations.
U.S. officials have alleged that President Maduro is part of an organization known as the Cartel of the Suns, which they claim includes high-ranking Venezuelan military and security officials involved in drug trafficking. President Maduro has denied these allegations.
(With additional reporting from Ione Wells)
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