U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that he personally authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, a rare public acknowledgment that has provoked outrage in Caracas and raised fears of renewed instability across Latin America.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he approved the CIA’s activities to curb the flow of narcotics and prevent Venezuelan criminal elements from entering the United States.
“I authorised for two reasons really,” he said. “Number one, they — Venezuela — have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. And the other thing is drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so we’re going to stop them by land also.”
His comments came after a New York Times investigation revealed that the CIA had been given authority to act unilaterally or alongside U.S. military forces in Venezuelan territory — signalling an escalation of Washington’s covert campaign against the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
The admission follows a string of U.S. strikes in the Caribbean that have reportedly killed at least 27 people in recent weeks. U.N.-appointed human rights experts condemned the operations, saying they “amount to extrajudicial executions” of alleged narcotics traffickers.
President Nicolás Maduro swiftly condemned Trump’s remarks in a televised address, warning that Washington’s “acts of aggression” could plunge the region into chaos.
“No to regime change, which reminds us of the endless, failed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya,” Maduro said. “No to CIA-orchestrated coups d’état. Listen to me — no war, yes peace.”
Maduro announced military exercises in the Caracas suburb of Petare and Miranda state, mobilising troops, police, and civilian militias “to defend the oil-rich nation.”
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil denounced Trump’s statement as “warmongering and extravagant,” accusing Washington of pursuing “a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment.”
Trump’s acknowledgment marks one of the most direct admissions of U.S. covert operations in Latin America in decades — a region where the CIA’s past interventions have included coups and regime-change efforts throughout the Cold War.
Security analyst and former CIA paramilitary officer Mick Mulroy said the decision reflects “a substantial increase in efforts against drug trafficking organisations,” describing the current strategy as “a real-life Sicario.”
The U.S. has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and fighter jets to the Caribbean under what the White House calls a counter-narcotics mission. Yet experts warn the expanding military footprint and intelligence operations risk pushing Washington and Caracas closer to open confrontation.
As U.S. officials remain silent on the CIA’s exact mandate, Maduro’s government is bracing for potential incursions, calling the actions “an act of aggression” and pledging “total resistance” to any foreign interference.
Diplomatic observers say the revelation could further isolate Venezuela while intensifying scrutiny of the United States’ military and intelligence activities in the Western Hemisphere.
For now, both nations appear locked in a familiar cycle of suspicion and defiance — one that could once again test the fragile peace in a region long haunted by interventionist politics.
