Trump Confirms CIA Authorization for Venezuela Operations, Eyes Land Strikes Against Drug Cartels
President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and indicated that his administration is considering expanding military action to include land-based strikes against drug cartels. The announcement marks a significant escalation in U.S. efforts to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government and represents an unprecedented approach to counter-narcotics operations in the region.
Maritime Campaign Intensifies
The acknowledgment of CIA involvement follows a series of deadly U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea. Since early September, U.S. forces have conducted at least five strikes on boats in international waters near Venezuela, resulting in 27 confirmed deaths. The most recent attack occurred Tuesday, October 14, killing six individuals Trump described as “narcoterrorists” aboard a vessel he claimed was “trafficking narcotics” and “associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks”.
Trump has deployed approximately 10,000 American troops to the Caribbean region as part of what his administration characterizes as a counter-narcotics operation. The military presence includes 8,500 personnel in Puerto Rico, eight surface warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and ten F-35 stealth fighters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has posted videos of the strikes on social media, though the administration has not provided detailed evidence linking the targeted vessels to specific drug trafficking operations or disclosed the nationalities of those killed.
“We have a lot of drugs coming from Venezuela and many of those drugs arrive by sea, which you can observe, but we’re also going to halt them by land.” — President Donald Trump
Shift to Land Operations
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said his administration is “certainly looking at land” for potential military operations after claiming success in maritime interdictions. When pressed on whether the CIA has authorization to target Maduro directly, Trump declined to answer directly, calling it “a ridiculous question” while not denying the possibility.
Trump justified the expanded CIA authorization by citing two primary concerns: Venezuela’s alleged release of prisoners into the United States and the flow of drugs through Venezuelan territory. The president has maintained that traditional Coast Guard interdiction methods have been “totally ineffective” because smugglers operate faster boats, arguing that “they’re not faster than missiles”.
Venezuela Responds with Military Mobilization
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has responded to the escalating U.S. pressure by ordering new military exercises and mobilizing armed forces to defend the country’s “mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories and markets”. State television broadcast images of armored vehicles deploying in Petare, a sprawling low-income suburb of Caracas traditionally considered a socialist stronghold.
Maduro, who is widely accused of having stolen last year’s presidential election, has consistently accused Washington of plotting regime change. The Venezuelan government previously signed a decree granting Maduro additional security powers in case of U.S. military intervention, allowing him to deploy armed forces nationwide and grant military oversight over public services and the oil sector. Venezuela has also called for an emergency United Nations Security Council session to address what it describes as mounting threats from the United States.
Legal and Congressional Concerns
The Trump administration’s approach has drawn criticism from legal experts and lawmakers from both political parties who question the legality of the strikes under U.S. and international law. In correspondence to Congress, the Pentagon has asserted that Trump determined the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels his administration has designated as terrorist organizations, labeling cartel smugglers as “unlawful combatants”.
Former military attorneys argue that the legal justifications provided by the Trump administration for targeting suspected drug traffickers at sea rather than capturing them do not meet the standards outlined in the law of war. Critics contend that selling drugs does not constitute an armed attack warranting military response under international law.
The Senate voted last week on a war powers resolution that would have barred the Trump administration from conducting the strikes without explicit congressional authorization, but the measure failed to pass. Members of Congress from both parties have expressed growing concern over the administration’s failure to share basic information about the intelligence, rationale, and goals of the operations.
International Context
The U.S. government has previously accused Maduro of engaging in drug trafficking and placed a $50 million bounty on him. While the Trump administration publicly states its goal is to stop drug trafficking, officials have made clear they want to see Maduro removed from power. In an apparent attempt at diplomacy, Maduro sent Trump a letter earlier this month proposing direct discussions and dismissing U.S. assertions about Venezuela’s involvement in drug trafficking, expressing his desire for a “historic and peaceful” relationship between the two nations.
The escalation comes as Venezuela has conducted military drills featuring Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets armed with anti-ship missiles, in what observers describe as a show of force aimed at the United States. Russia has expressed “full support” for Venezuela amid the U.S. military actions.
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