US President Donald Trump has confirmed a report he authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, provoking outrage from the South American nation’s leaders.
US forces have already conducted at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 27 people. UN-appointed human rights experts have described the raids as “extrajudicial executions”.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the US “is looking at land” as it considers further strikes on drug cartels in the region.
Nicolas Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela’s president is internationally contested after disputed elections last year, appealed on TV for peace with the US.
The increased US military presence in the region has raised fears in Caracas of a possible attack.
According to the New York Times, Trump’s authorisation would allow the CIA to carry out operations in Venezuela unilaterally or as part of any wider US military activity.
It remains unknown whether the CIA is planning operations in Venezuela, or whether those plans are being kept as contingencies, but the spy agency has a long history of activities in South America.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump was questioned about the New York Times report.
“Why did you authorise the CIA to go into Venezuela?” a journalist asked.
“I authorised for two reasons really,” Trump said in a highly unusual acknowledgement from a US commander-in-chief about an intelligence organisation whose activities are typically shrouded in secrecy.
“Number one, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
He added: “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.”
Venezuela plays a relatively minor role in the region’s drug trade. The president would not be drawn on whether the CIA’s goal was to topple Maduro, for whom the US has offered a $50m (£37m) bounty.
“Wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he said.
In the most recent US strike on Tuesday, six people were killed when a boat was targeted near Venezuela’s coast.
On Truth Social, Trump said that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known” drug-trafficking corridor.
As has been the case in previous strikes, US officials have not specified what drug-trafficking organisation was allegedly operating the vessel, or the identities of those aboard.
Maduro took to the airwaves on Wednesday night to warn against escalation.
“No to regime change, which reminds us so much of the endless, failed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and so on,” said the Socialist leader.
“No to CIA orchestrated coups d’état.”
He added: “Listen to me, no war, yes peace, the people United States.”
Earlier in the day Maduro ordered military exercises in the Caracas suburb of Petare and in neighbouring Miranda state on Wednesday.
In a message on Telegram, he said he was mobilising the military, police and civilian militia to defend the oil-rich country.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil said on Telegram that Venezuela “rejects the warmongering and extravagant statements of the president of the United States”.
“We view with extreme alarm the use of the CIA, as well as the military deployments announced in the Caribbean, which amount to a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment against Venezuela,” he added.
Trump has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-power submarine and fighter jets to the Caribbean in what the White House says is an effort to crack down on drug smuggling.
In a leaked memo recently sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration said it had determined it was involved in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug-trafficking organisations.
US officials have alleged that Maduro himself is part of an organisation called the Cartel of the Suns, which it says includes high-ranking Venezuelan military and security officials involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the claims.
Mick Mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer and Assistant Undersecretary of Defense, told the BBC: “In order to conduct covert action, there needs to be a presidential finding for the CIA specially authorizing it, with specific actions identified.”
Mulroy added that such a finding would mark a “substantial increase” in efforts against drug trafficking organizations.
“Perhaps a real life ‘Sicario’,” he said, referring to a 2015 film that depicts US operatives launching clandestine operations against drug cartels in Mexico.
(With additional reporting from Ione Wells)
