Washington: President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, revealing a significant escalation in U.S. involvement in the region. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump also suggested that the administration is considering land-based operations in the country, though he did not specify whether such action would target President Nicolás Maduro directly.
“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump told reporters. “No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. And the other thing, the drugs a lot of Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.” The comments followed reports of U.S. military strikes on drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, including at least five vessels destroyed since early September, resulting in 27 fatalities. Four of the boats were reportedly traced back to Venezuela.
The president defended the escalation, saying traditional law enforcement measures have failed. “We’ve been doing that for 30 years, and it has been totally ineffective. They have faster boats. They’re world-class speedboats, but they’re not faster than missiles,” Trump said.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reacted sharply to Trump’s remarks, framing them as part of a long history of U.S.-backed interventions in Latin America. Speaking at a televised event of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, Maduro invoked historical episodes such as the 1973 Chilean coup and the disappearances in Argentina, denouncing what he called “CIA coups.”
“No to regime change. No to war in the Caribbean, no to war in South America. Yes to peace,” Maduro said, addressing both domestic and international audiences. He urged U.S. citizens to reject conflict, repeating in English, “Not war, yes peace. The people of the United States, please. Please, please, please.”
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement condemning Trump’s announcement as a “serious violation of international law and the United Nations’ Charter,” calling on the international community to denounce the U.S. actions.
Trump’s acknowledgment has raised alarm in Washington, where members of both parties questioned the legality of unilateral covert operations and military strikes. The administration recently labeled drug cartels as “unlawful combatants,” framing U.S. strikes as part of an “armed conflict” against narcotics traffickers. Critics argue that this designation effectively bypasses Congress and international law.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized the administration for 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,” Shaheen said.
U.S. officials have not provided concrete evidence proving that the targeted vessels carried drugs. Sources familiar with the matter said only unclassified video clips from social media were cited, raising concerns over due process and adherence to international norms. Human rights organizations have decried the strikes as potential extrajudicial killings, highlighting the risk of civilian casualties.
The strikes mark a sharp intensification of U.S. action in the Caribbean and Latin America, combining covert intelligence operations with overt military engagement. While the Coast Guard continues traditional interdiction efforts, the military’s approach, supported by the CIA, signals a new and more aggressive strategy against drug trafficking.
As tensions rise, the U.S. faces scrutiny both at home and abroad, balancing domestic anti-narcotics policy with the risk of drawing the nation into a broader conflict in Venezuela a nation already grappling with political and economic instability.
Trump’s declaration of CIA operations underscores a striking new chapter in U.S.-Venezuelan relations, one that threatens to reshape security dynamics in the Caribbean and tests the boundaries of international law and executive authority.