President Donald Trump authorized the CIA to carry out lethal covert operations in Venezuela and the Caribbean, he confirmed Wednesday, a move US officials say is part of an effort to oust President Nicolás Maduro.
Through what’s called a “presidential finding,” a classified directive that authorizes covert action, Trump has given the CIA permission to undertake lethal missions in Venezuela and broader operations throughout Caribbean waters, senior US officials told The New York Times. Trump publicly acknowledged the directive during a White House press conference, an unusual disclosure for typically classified covert actions.
“I authorized for two reasons, really. Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” Trump told reporters. “And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela.”
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The move comes as Trump has repeatedly touted himself as a peacemaker on the world stage. At the United Nations General Assembly last month, he claimed to have “ended seven un-endable wars” and suggested he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts.
But fact-checkers and foreign policy experts have disputed those claims. Many of the conflicts Trump cited were not active wars, several continue to see violence, and some countries involved have contested his role in brokering peace. Trump has since brokered a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, though Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.
The CIA authorization represents a return to Cold War-era policies in Latin America, where US covert operations backed coups and destabilization campaigns for decades. Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as a violation of international law.
“The purpose of US actions is to create legitimacy for an operation to change the regime in Venezuela, with the ultimate goal of taking control of all the country’s resources,” the Maduro government said in a statement.
The US military has carried out at least five lethal strikes on Caribbean boats since early September, all of which the administration claims were trafficking drugs. The administration has not provided evidence to support those claims, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
When asked if the CIA has authority to assassinate Maduro, Trump deflected. “I don’t want to answer a question like that. That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given,” he said, before adding: “But I think Venezuela’s feeling heat.”
Trump also indicated his administration is considering land-based military operations inside Venezuela, saying “we are certainly looking at land now.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., criticized the lack of transparency. “The Trump administration’s authorization of covert CIA action, conducting lethal strikes on boats and hinting at land operations in Venezuela slides the United States closer to outright conflict with no transparency, oversight or apparent guardrails,” she said.
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