Trump authorizes CIA action in Venezuela

Trump’s secret presidential finding, per U.S. officials, greenlights CIA lethal operations targeting Venezuela’s Maduro regime and Caribbean narco-trafficking, bypassing congressional oversight. “We would make the C.I.A. less averse to risk,” said director John Ratcliffe, signaling aggressive covert actions like assassinations or sabotage.

The authorization escalates Trump’s campaign to oust Maduro, deemed a “narcoterrorist” by Rubio, despite disputed U.S. intelligence rejecting claims Maduro controls Tren de Aragua. A $50 million bounty targets Maduro’s arrest for drug trafficking, though legal justifications remain thin, per officials.

U.S. military buildup includes 10,000 troops, eight warships, a submarine, and Marines on assault ships in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Recent naval strikes killed 27 on boats allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela, with plans for strikes inside the country under review.

The CIA’s new powers allow unilateral or joint military ops, building on past counternarcotics work. Under Gina Haspel, the agency hunted cartels in Mexico; Ratcliffe expanded drone surveillance for fentanyl labs. “Going places no one else can go,” Ratcliffe said, describing CIA’s role.

Historical CIA actions in Latin America—1954 Guatemala coup, 1961 Bay of Pigs, and 1973 Chile coup—signal risks of instability. The finding, a closely guarded executive secret, limits congressional scrutiny, echoing past unchecked interventions that fueled regional unrest, per officials.