MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump authorizes CIA covert operations in Venezuela amid rising military tensions

Sources quoted by The Times said the agency could act independently or in coordination with the Pentagon, which has prepared contingency plans for a potential ground incursion

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela, marking a new escalation in Washington’s campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s government. The move, first reported by The New York Times, comes as U.S. military pressure intensifies in the Caribbean, where American forces have attacked several vessels it accuses of trafficking drugs from the South American nation.

“I’ve authorized these operations for two reasons: Venezuela has emptied its prisons into the United States, and we have a lot of drugs coming from there. We’re already stopping them at sea — now we’ll stop them on land,” Trump said in the Oval Office. When asked whether the CIA has authorization to target Maduro directly, the president replied, “It would be ridiculous to answer that question.”

A New Phase in Washington’s Campaign Against Maduro

According to officials cited by The New York Times, the authorization allows the CIA to conduct lethal operations inside Venezuela or coordinate with U.S. military forces already deployed in the Caribbean. Since September 2, Washington has confirmed at least five strikes on alleged “narco-boats”, killing 27 people, though it has not provided evidence regarding the victims or the cargo.

Trump defended his strategy, arguing that traditional methods like Coast Guard interceptions have proven ineffective. “We’ve been doing that for 30 years, and it doesn’t work. They have very fast boats — but not faster than our missiles,” he said.

The State Department recently doubled the reward to $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture, accusing him of leading the Cartel of the Suns, and designated the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist group.

The CIA’s Shadow Over Latin America

The move has revived debate over the CIA’s long history of covert operations in Latin America, including the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, the 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile, and support for Nicaragua’s Contra rebels during the 1980s.

Sources quoted by The Times said the agency could act independently or in coordination with the Pentagon, which has prepared contingency plans for a potential ground incursion. The United States currently maintains more than 10,000 troops in the region, mostly at bases in Puerto Rico, and a fleet of eight warships and a nuclear submarine stationed in international waters near Venezuela.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that any vessel suspected of drug trafficking would be considered a legitimate target: “If you’re in the Caribbean trafficking drugs to the United States, you are a lawful target of our armed forces.”

Caracas Responds

From Caracas, Nicolás Maduro denounced Washington’s actions as an attempt to force regime change under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. “The United States doesn’t want to stop drugs; it wants our surrender,” he said in a televised address.

Maduro has maintained a highly visible agenda to project normalcy, while also declaring a state of emergency for “external commotion” and ordering weekly military exercises. “Venezuela will never be humiliated by any empire,” he proclaimed.

The escalation comes just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, further increasing international pressure on Maduro. In an interview following the announcement, Machado stated: “We’re facing the real possibility of a peaceful transition. Venezuela will not become another Libya or Afghanistan.”

With the CIA’s new authorization and the suspension of diplomatic contacts, Trump’s strategy signals a shift toward a more aggressive confrontation — one that echoes the darkest chapters of the Cold War in Latin America.