President Trump confirmed that he has authorized the CIA to go into Venezuela and conduct covert operations. The New York Times first reported the president’s authorization of CIA operations in Venezuela. The CIA declined to respond to the report.
During a press briefing at the White House, Trump provided two reasons for the authorization: “First, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America” and “allowed thousands and thousands of prisoners” and “people from mental institutions, insane asylums” into the U.S. The President also cited the “drugs coming in from Venezuela … A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in from the sea. You get to see that, but we’re gonna stop them by land, also.”
Senior U.S. officials have alleged that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro maintains control over the drug cartel known as Tren de Aragua — an accusation Maduro has firmly rejected. The Justice Department has offered a reward for information leading to his arrest, doubling it in August to $50 million.
When asked whether the CIA authorization extended to targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump sidestepped the question: “Oh, I don’t want to answer a question like that. That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer? I think Venezuela is feeling heat, But I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat, too.”
In turn, the Venezuelan government condemned Trump’s “warmongering and extravagant” statements, accusing the United States of seeking to impose “regime change” in Caracas.
Earlier in the week, Trump posted on social media that the U.S. military had struck another small vessel off Venezuela’s coast, killing six people. It marked the fifth such attack in the Caribbean since early September, where the administration has asserted its right to treat suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants subject to military action. According to U.S. government figures, at least 27 people have been killed in these operation
When asked whether he was also considering launching military attacks on Venezuelan soil, Trump suggested it was possible: “Well, I don’t want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control. We’ve had a couple of days where there isn’t a boat to be found.”
Trump has also ordered the deployment of eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and several fighter jets to the region — a show of force he says is aimed at halting the flow of drugs into the United States.
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