U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed yesterday that he had approved CIA covert operations in Venezuela, emphasizing that he is “considering” ordering ground military operations.
The move represents a sharp escalation of pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down and follows five U.S. attacks on ships that had departed from Venezuelan ports, resulting in a total of 27 deaths.
The U.S. government claims that the ships, which were struck in international waters, were carrying narcotics to the United States, while offering a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
The CIA has a long history of involvement in coups in Latin American countries, including Chile (1973), Brazil (1964), Cuba (1961), and Nicaragua (1980).
When the U.S. president was specifically asked why he approved the CIA’s involvement in the country, he stated that “first of all, they’ve emptied their prisons into the U.S.,” and added, “the other issue is drugs. We have a large volume of drugs entering from Venezuela,” despite the fact that, according to the BBC, Venezuela plays a relatively minor role in the region’s drug trade.
Maduro described Trump’s statements as a “violation of international law” and an attempted coup aimed at seizing the country’s oil wealth.
It remains unclear whether the CIA is actually planning operations in Venezuela or whether these plans are merely contingency options, but the agency has a long record of involvement in South America, having participated in coups in Chile (1973), Brazil (1964), Cuba (1961), and Nicaragua (1980).
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