President Trump has confirmed authorizing covert CIA operations in Venezuela. Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump also floated the idea of military strikes against drug cartels there, citing two motivations: claims that Venezuela has "emptied their prisons into the United States" and ongoing concerns about narcotics flowing in by sea. The BBC notes that it is a rare move for a sitting president to acknowledge covert CIA actions. Trump made the remarks after he was asked about a New York Times report on a classified document authorizing CIA agents to take lethal action inside Venezuela.
The US has already amped up military action in the Caribbean, launching at least five strikes on boats suspected of ferrying drugs, resulting in 27 deaths. UN human rights experts have criticized these actions as "extrajudicial executions," but Washington maintains that the vessels targeted were tied to narcoterrorist networks. "We are certainly looking at land now, because we've got the sea very well under control," Trump said when asked about striking Venezuela.
Tensions are rising in Caracas, where President Nicolas Maduro has responded to the uptick in American military activity by ordering exercises involving the military, police, and civilian militias, the BBC reports. Venezuelan officials are framing the US moves as attempts to topple Maduro and seize the country's resources. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello issued defiant statements Wednesday, warning of resistance and accusing the US of plotting to rob Venezuela of its oil.
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Le Monde reports that when Trump was asked Wednesday if he had given the CIA the authority to "take out" Maduro, he replied: "That's a ridiculous question for me to be given. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?"
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