U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he has authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, signalling a major escalation in Washington’s long-running campaign to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.
Trump said the decision was part of a broader effort to counter what he described as drug trafficking and criminal networks linked to the Maduro regime. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the President stated that Venezuela had “emptied their prisons into the United States” and was responsible for large quantities of drugs entering the country.
“I authorised for two reasons really,” Trump said. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. They came in through the border. 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.”
Trump added that Washington was now considering extending its operations to land-based strikes, saying, “we are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control.”
When asked if the CIA’s new mandate included plans to directly overthrow Maduro, Trump declined to give details. “Wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he said, calling it inappropriate to comment on operational specifics. He added, “I think Venezuela is feeling heat. But I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat too. We’re not going to let this country, our country, be ruined because other people want to drop, as you say, their worst.”
According to U.S. officials familiar with the decision, the authorisation outlined in a classified presidential finding grants the CIA authority to conduct a broad range of covert activities, including potentially lethal operations. The stated objective is to remove Maduro from power, amid ongoing U.S. accusations that he leads a criminal network tied to narcotics trafficking, including the Cartel of the Suns and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Maduro has repeatedly rejected these allegations, and some U.S. intelligence assessments have questioned claims that Venezuela is a major producer of drugs.
The move follows a series of U.S. military actions in the region. The administration has reportedly deployed around 10,000 troops to the Caribbean, mainly stationed in Puerto Rico, and positioned eight surface warships and a submarine near Venezuelan waters. Over the past several weeks, U.S. forces have carried out at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in 27 deaths. The operations have drawn criticism from United Nations human rights experts, who described them as potential “extrajudicial executions.”
A leaked congressional memo has classified the U.S. campaign as part of a “non-international armed conflict” against drug-trafficking groups, which it identifies as “nonstate armed organizations” posing a direct threat to the United States. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, known for his advocacy of a more aggressive intelligence posture, has expanded the agency’s counternarcotics operations across Latin America, including drone-based surveillance targeting fentanyl laboratories in Mexico.
Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio has been closely involved in shaping the policy, labelling Maduro a “narcoterrorist” and pressing for his removal. The strategy mirrors previous CIA interventions in Latin America, such as the 1954 coup in Guatemala and efforts against Fidel Castro in Cuba, which led to prolonged instability in the region.
The Venezuelan government has condemned Trump’s statements, accusing Washington of openly admitting to planning “CIA coups.” In a statement, Caracas said, “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the extravagant statements of the President of the United States, in which he publicly admits having authorized operations in order to act against the peace and stability of Venezuela.”
Venezuela’s foreign ministry announced that it would raise the issue with the United Nations Security Council and the UN Secretary-General, warning of escalating threats to regional sovereignty and peace.
(Source: OpIndia)
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