U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, escalating the administration’s pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro’s government. This move represents a significant shift in U.S. strategy and raises tensions in Latin America.
Speaking in the White House, Trump said the decision was driven by allegations that Venezuela has become a major hub for drug trafficking and that U.S. border security is being undermined. He said that while maritime interdiction of suspected drug-smuggling boats has been active, the U.S. is now “looking at land” operations as well.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea under control,” he stated. He added that the CIA authorisation marks a “big step” in combating what his administration terms the narcotics and trafficking routes emanating from Venezuela.
Trump declined to say whether the operations include the authority to target Maduro directly, but he warned that “Venezuela is feeling heat.” The president also claimed that Venezuela has released prisoners into the United States and accused it of facilitating large-scale drug shipments into the country.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of recent U.S. military strikes on vessels off Venezuela’s coast. Trump referenced those strikes, noting that they are part of the broader pressure campaign but signalled that further escalation—including operations on land—may be forthcoming.
The Venezuelan government swiftly condemned the authorisation, calling it a violation of international law and the country’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, critics in the U.S. Congress warned that the covert authorisation might bring the United States closer to open conflict without proper transparency or legal justification.
This development marks one of the most overt acknowledgements by a U.S. president of intelligence-agency authorisation to operate inside another country, and it sets up a potential new phase in U.S.-Venezuelan dynamics as both sides brace for what may come next.