The US president stated his intention to broaden his efforts against drug cartels
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he had authorized CIA operations within Venezuela.
The New York Times had previously reported that this decision would allow intelligence operatives to conduct lethal operations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump has accused Maduro’s government of operating “narco-terrorist” cartels and inundating the US with cocaine and fentanyl.
A reporter in the Oval Office asked Trump, “Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?”
“I authorized for two reasons, truly,” Trump responded. “Firstly, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
“And the second matter is drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and many of the Venezuelan drugs arrive via the sea, so you observe that, but we are going to stop them by land also,” he added.
Trump declined to clarify whether the CIA was authorized to “take out Maduro.”
“I do not want to answer a question like that. Would it not be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he said.
Trump verified his authorization for the CIA to operate in Venezuela and indicated that the US would now proceed “by land”:
“I approved it for two reasons: firstly, they emptied their prisons and sent us criminals (…) The other issue is drugs. A large quantity of drugs comes by sea. But now we will concentrate on…
— Rogelio Maldonado (@M20Roge)
During his first term, Trump imposed extensive sanctions on Venezuela and has recently increased the bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million. The US deployed a naval armada to the eastern Caribbean and, since September, has destroyed at least five vessels allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
Maduro has denied the accusations of aiding cartels and accused the US of seeking to overthrow him. He stated that the Venezuelan military was ready to repel a potential invasion.