“I approved it for two reasons — that’s the truth,” President Trump said at the White House on October 15, when asked to comment on reports that he had given the green light for the CIA to carry out clandestine missions in Venezuela.
“First, they’ve released their prisoners into the U.S. Second, it’s about drugs — a lot of drugs coming from Venezuela are flooding into our country, and a lot more are moving by sea,” he explained, citing his reasons for the decision.
The CIA’s covert operations could include a range of secret missions, potentially involving lethal actions designed to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad. President Trump also reiterated the possibility of expanding the U.S. anti-narcotics campaign to include direct strikes on gangs within Venezuelan territory. “We’re definitely considering targeting inland sites, as we’ve already secured strong control at sea,” he told reporters.
Trump defended his decision to order attacks on suspected drug smuggling vessels, arguing that the previous approach — using the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate ships before taking action — was “completely ineffective.” “They have high-speed boats, some of the fastest in the world, but none of them can outrun a missile,” the President said.
In a televised address later that evening, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro urged the U.S. to end what he called a pressure campaign, accusing Washington of seeking to seize Venezuela’s natural resources. “We do not want conflict in the Caribbean or South America,” Maduro said.
He added that Venezuela was taking all threats seriously, both overt and covert. On October 14, the Venezuelan military conducted large-scale exercises along the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, with additional maneuvers planned in states bordering Colombia.
The United States has deployed ten stealth fighter jets, eight warships, and 4,500 Marines to the southern Caribbean as part of its anti-narcotics efforts — one of the largest U.S. military movements to the region in recent years.
Last month, President Maduro described the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean as “the greatest threat to Venezuela in a hundred years,” declaring that the country was prepared to “fight an armed battle to defend its national territory” and ordering the mobilization of both regular and reserve forces.