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United States President Donald Trump has confirmed he authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in US efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
The New York Times first reported the classified directive, citing US officials familiar with the decision, saying the Trump administration’s Venezuela strategy aims to remove Maduro from power.
The administration has offered US$50 million (nearly $77 million) for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction on drug trafficking charges.

Trump justified his decision by stating that significant quantities of drugs were being smuggled into the United States from Venezuela, primarily via maritime routes.

“We’re now focusing on land since we have effectively managed the situation at sea,” Trump remarked.

When a journalist inquired why the coast guard wasn’t intercepting suspected drug trafficking vessels—a longstanding US approach—Trump dismissed such measures as “politically correct” and ineffective.

Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuela of being a hub for the trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl, but US records have shown Mexico is the main source of fentanyl.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused Donald Trump of attempting to oust him from leadership. Source: AAP / Miguel Gutierrez/EPA

A man in a red jacket and a thick moustache closes his hand in a fist as he speaks into microphones.

Trump declined to answer when asked if the CIA has the authority to execute Maduro, saying: “I think Venezuela is feeling heat.”

Contentious use of military power

Trump has ordered a large US military buildup in the southern Caribbean, and the troops have conducted at least five strikes on vessels the Trump administration has described as involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence.
The campaign is the most recent example of Trump’s efforts to use US military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty US troops in Los Angeles to carrying out counterterrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.

The Pentagon recently disclosed to Congress that Trump has determined the US is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Trump accused of moving US into another conflict

Trump also accused Venezuela of releasing large numbers of prisoners, including persons from mental health facilities, into the US, although he did not specify which border they were crossing.

Neither Maduro’s information ministry nor press representatives for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado immediately responded to requests for comment on Trump’s remarks.
The Trump administration has provided scant information about the strikes, frustrating members of Congress, including some of his fellow Republicans.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the senate foreign relations committee, said the administration moved the US closer to outright conflict.
“The American people deserve to know if the administration is leading the US into another conflict, putting service members at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation.”
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