The CIA has a long history of covert operations in Latin America, especially during the Cold War.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he has approved secret and potentially lethal CIA operations in Venezuela, adding that he is “considering” ordering ground strikes by the U.S. military in the Latin American country. The remarks signal a dramatic escalation of Washington’s pressure campaign to force President Nicolás Maduro and his government from power.
Asked why he approved CIA activities in Venezuela, Trump cited illegal migration and drug trafficking: “For two reasons,” he said. “First, they emptied their prisons into the United States,” claiming inmates were sent “across the border” because “we had open borders.” “The other is drugs,” he added. He presented no evidence for the claim that Caracas is sending former prisoners to the U.S.
Trump also said he is “considering” ground strikes against drug traffickers on Venezuelan territory: “I don’t want to say more, but we’re looking at the ground right now, because we control the sea very well.”
Caracas reacts
Venezuela denounced Trump’s statements as a violation of international law and an effort to legitimise a “regime change” operation aimed at seizing the country’s oil wealth. “Our permanent mission to the UN will lodge our protest with the Security Council and the Secretary-General tomorrow (Thursday), demanding accountability from the U.S. government,” Foreign Minister Yván Gil said on Telegram.
According to reporting by the New York Times, citing U.S. officials familiar with the matter, a classified Trump administration document authorises CIA covert operations in Venezuela and more broadly in the Caribbean with the goal of toppling Nicolás Maduro.
Washington accuses Maduro and his government of running drug-trafficking cartels targeting the U.S. market and, earlier this year, doubled a reward to $50 million for information leading to his arrest, allegations categorically denied by Caracas.
Strikes at sea and legality questions
On Tuesday, the U.S. announced that six alleged drug traffickers were killed in a new American missile strike on a vessel off the Venezuelan coast, at least the fifth such strike since early September. At least 27 people have been killed in these operations, according to U.S. government statements. The legality of such actions, in foreign or international waters, without arrest or interrogation of suspects, has been widely questioned.
Maduro’s condemnation and regional backdrop
In Caracas, President Maduro denounced “CIA-orchestrated coups.” “No to war in the Caribbean. No to regime change, which reminds us of the endless failed wars in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq… No to CIA-instigated coups,” he said. Since early September, Washington has deployed eight warships, including amphibious vessels with Marines, and a nuclear-powered submarine off Venezuela’s coast, as well as advanced fighter jets in Puerto Rico, officially as part of a counter-narcotics operation.
Maduro listed past coups and their toll, “30,000 disappeared in Argentina,” and in Chile under Augusto Pinochet, “5,000 young people murdered and disappeared”, adding: “How much longer will CIA coups continue? Latin America does not want them, does not need them, and rejects them.”
Seeing a “military threat” in the U.S. deployments, Caracas has launched military exercises and mobilised reserves. Maduro argues Washington is using drug trafficking as a pretext to impose regime change and seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, among the largest in the world.
Pressed on whether he had ordered the “neutralisation” of Maduro, Trump avoided a direct answer: “That’s a ridiculous question. Not truly ridiculous, but wouldn’t it be ridiculous for me to answer?”
Sources: CNA