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 leader.
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.
Nicolás Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela’s president is internationally contested after disputed elections last year, appealed on TV for peace with the US.
He addressed the “people of the United States”, saying “no war, yes peace”.
The increased US military presence in the region has raised fears in Caracas of a possible attack. There are reportedly about 10,000 US forces built up in the Caribbean, either on ships or in Puerto Rico, a US territory.
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.
