Trump Signals CIA Covert Action in Venezuela, Considers Expanding Military Strikes
US President Donald Trump suggested he had authorized covert CIA operations targeting Venezuela’s government, and said he was weighing the possibility of extending U.S. military action against alleged drug cartels to land inside the South American country.
Trump’s remarks drew a sharp rebuke from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who accused Washington of plotting a “CIA-orchestrated coup” and ordered nationwide military drills in response to a recent U.S. naval strike that reportedly sank a drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.
Asked by reporters about a New York Times report that he had approved a secret CIA mission aimed at undermining Maduro, Trump declined to provide specifics but acknowledged giving the green light.
“I authorized it, really for two reasons,” he said, citing long-standing allegations that Maduro leads a “narco-terrorist regime” and had released prisoners who were then sent to the United States.
When pressed on whether he had sanctioned a CIA plan to “take out” Maduro, Trump deflected. “That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given,” he said. “Not really ridiculous—but wouldn’t it be ridiculous for me to answer it?”
Considering Ground Operations
The US president also said his country was considering moving beyond maritime operations to target suspected drug trafficking on land in Venezuela.
“We’re certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he told reporters from the Oval Office.
At least 27 people have been killed in a series of recent U.S. naval strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean, according to U.S. officials.
Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago said they are investigating whether two of the deceased were nationals. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for the United Nations to launch a criminal investigation into the U.S. strikes, claiming Colombian citizens were among the victims.
Legal experts have raised concerns over the legitimacy of using lethal force in foreign or international waters without arrests or formal questioning.
Regional Fallout
Trump’s comments come amid heightened U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, which Washington says is part of a broader anti-narcotics operation. But the buildup has sparked condemnation across Latin America, with many leaders warning it could be a pretext for regime change.
“No to war in the Caribbean. No to regime change. No to CIA coups,” Maduro said during a televised address to a government committee monitoring the U.S. deployment.
Following the latest naval strike, which Trump said killed six “narcoterrorists,” Maduro ordered large-scale military exercises across Venezuela’s Atlantic coast and along the border with Colombia.
In a message on Telegram, Maduro said military, police, and civilian militias were being mobilized to defend the nation’s “mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories, and markets.”
Maduro has repeatedly denied U.S. accusations that he oversees a drug cartel. In August, the U.S. Department of Justice doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Despite past assurances that he was not pursuing regime change in Venezuela, Trump has frequently questioned the legitimacy of Maduro’s rule and accused him of rigging last year’s presidential election.
Tensions between the two leaders escalated further last week after U.S.-backed opposition figure María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent resistance to Maduro’s 12-year rule. Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, who had previously campaigned to receive the award himself.
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