Trump Approves CIA Operations Against Protesting Venezuela
On Wednesday, American President Donald Trump announced that he has authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuela and is considering strikes on Venezuelan territory, provoking outrage from Caracas, which condemned the "coup attempts orchestrated" by the primary American intelligence agency.
Trump declined to comment in detail on New York Times reports suggesting he secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions in Venezuela against President Nicolas Maduro.
"But I have given authorization for two really good reasons," he stated, listing arguments against Mr. Maduro, whom he accuses of running a "narco-terrorist" regime and freeing prisoners to send them to the United States.
When asked if he had given the CIA permission to "neutralize" the Venezuelan leader, Trump replied, "That's a ridiculous question you're asking me. Well, it's not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be ridiculous of me to answer it?"
The Trump administration recently attacked at least five vessels it claimed were operated by drug traffickers in international waters, resulting in at least 27 deaths. This came after deploying eight warships and a nuclear submarine off the coast of Venezuela in August, in an operation framed as targeting drug trafficking.
On Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago police informed AFP that they are investigating the possibility that two Trinidadian nationals were among the six individuals killed in the latest U.S. strike announced by Trump on Tuesday. Authorities were alerted by residents of the fishing village Las Cuevas (northern Trinidad) about the presumed presence of two Trinidadians on board the vessel.
In response to a journalist's question about the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela, Trump revealed, "I don't want to tell you much more, but we are looking at ground options now, as we control the seas very well."
Washington accuses the Venezuelan president and his government of leading a vast drug trafficking organization to the United States, which Caracas vehemently denies. Venezuela has launched military exercises and mobilized reservists in response to the American deployment.
Military Maneuvers
"No to war in the Caribbean," Nicolas Maduro declared in a speech on Wednesday. "No to regime change that reminds us so much of the failed eternal wars in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq (...). No to coups orchestrated by the CIA," he continued.
He recalled that such coups led to the 30,000 disappearances caused by the CIA during coups in Argentina. "The coup of Pinochet and the 5,000 young people murdered and disappeared. Until when will the CIA's coups continue? Latin America does not want them, does not need them, and rejects them," he further accused before the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, a body created in September specifically for this crisis.
The United States "publicly admits to having authorized operations aimed at acting against the peace and stability of Venezuela. This unprecedented statement constitutes a serious violation of international law," the Foreign Ministry responded in a statement later that evening.
"We are observing with extreme concern the use of the CIA, as well as the announced military deployments in the Caribbean, which constitute a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment against Venezuela," the text stated.
Earlier in the day, President Maduro continued a program of military maneuvers across the country, notably ordering a deployment to the border with Colombia, in the states of Tachira, Apure, and Amazonas.
This porous area is a transit route for part of Colombia's cocaine, the world's largest producer. It is one of the potential targets mentioned by sources close to the White House.
For Nicolas Maduro, Washington uses drug trafficking as a pretext "to impose a regime change" and seize the country's significant oil reserves.