U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in U.S. efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
The New York Times first reported the classified directive, citing U.S. officials familiar with the decision, saying the Trump administration’s Venezuela strategy aims to remove Maduro from power. The administration has offered $50 million US for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction on drug trafficking charges.
Trump said he authorized the action because large amounts of drugs were entering the United States from Venezuela, much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Trump said.
Trump has ordered a large military buildup in the southern Caribbean, and since early September the U.S. has conducted at least five strikes on vessels the Trump administration has described as involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence.
The strikes have killed at least 27 people. On Tuesday, Trump posted a roughly 30-second video to Truth Social, appearing to show a stationary vessel in a body of water being hit with a projectile before exploding.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry condemned Trump’s comments in a statement.
“This unprecedented statement constitutes a very serious violation of international law and the United Nations’ Charter and obliges the community of countries to denounce these clearly immoderate and inconceivable statements,” according the statement, which Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto posted on his Telegram channel.
Maduro rejects ‘regime change’
Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuela of being a hub for trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl, but U.S. records have shown that Mexico is the main source of fentanyl.
Trump was asked by a reporter why he did not have the Coast Guard stop suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been U.S. practice for decades. Trump called such efforts “politically correct” and said they had not worked.
WATCH | U.S. views Venezuela’s Maduro as a drug lord, clinging to power:
Trump authorizes CIA operations in Venezuela
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he has authorized CIA operations in Venezuela as part of increased pressure against the country, which Trump blames for an influx of drugs and criminals.
The campaign is the most recent example of Trump’s efforts to use U.S. military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty U.S. troops in Los Angeles to carrying out counterterrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.
The Pentagon recently disclosed to Congress that Trump has determined the United States is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Trump declined to answer when asked if the CIA has authority to execute Maduro, saying, “I think Venezuela is feeling heat.”
The Trump administration in August doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million US, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups that Maduro denies.
“No to regime change, which reminds us so much of the endless, failed [U.S.] wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and so on,” Maduro said at a televised event on Wednesday.
“Listen to me, no war, yes peace, the people, United States,” Maduro added, in his only comments made in English.
Senator says U.S. moving closer to outright conflict
Trump also accused Venezuela of releasing large numbers of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the United States, although he did not specify which border they were crossing.
The Trump administration has provided scant information about the strikes, including the identities of those killed or details about the cargo, frustrating members of Congress, including some of his fellow Republicans.
WATCH | Questions abound about Venezuela drug exports, enemy combatants:
Why Trump is at war with Venezuela | About That
What’s President Donald Trump’s endgame with repeated U.S. strikes on boats near Venezuela? Andrew Chang breaks down the threats the Trump administration says it’s reacting to and why Venezuela’s relationship with China may also be a factor.
Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
On Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate’s foreign relations committee, said the administration moved the U.S. closer to outright conflict.
“The American people deserve to know if the Administration is leading the U.S. into another conflict, putting servicemembers at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation,” she said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been a vocal critic of the strikes, but a Senate vote called by Democrats last week to block the strikes failed to garner enough Republican support.
