USA Trump authorizes CIA operations in Venezuela
Following the deadly attacks by the US military on boats suspected of being loaded with drugs in the Caribbean, President Donald Trump is taking another step - allegedly in the fight against irregular migration and drug trafficking from Venezuela.
16.10.2025, 10:04
SDA
Actions by the CIA foreign intelligence service in the South American country have been authorized, Trump said in the White House. He did not say what exactly these operations would look like. At the same time, however, he announced that he now also wanted to combat drug smugglers on land. Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro was furious.
The Republican cited an alleged flood of criminals and drugs from the country to the USA as the reason for authorizing the secret service actions. "They emptied their prisons into the United States of America," Trump replied to a reporter's question.
He claimed that thousands of prison inmates and people from psychiatric institutions had come into the country. "We're bringing them back." The other reason is drugs, many of which come to the USA from Venezuela, Trump said.
More than 20 deaths in recent US military operations at sea
In recent weeks, the US military has repeatedly fired on boats suspected of being used by drug smugglers in the Caribbean. More than 20 people are said to have been killed in the process. The action attracted criticism, partly because the US government did not provide any information on what legal basis it was acting.
The fact that Venezuela's government protested vehemently and the United Nations called on the USA to exercise restraint is of no concern to Trump. He pointed out that the United States was being flooded with drugs from abroad.
Trump has now said once again that there are numerous drugs being brought into the USA from Venezuela by sea, "but we will also stop them on land".
Maduro speaks of coups d'état
Trump did not want to answer a reporter's question as to whether the CIA was authorized to "eliminate" Venezuela's President Maduro. He called it a "ridiculous question". He believed that Venezuela, like other countries, was feeling the pressure.
In an initial reaction to Trump's announcement, Maduro spoke at an event in Caracas about CIA coups d'état, which he rejected, and asked how long the CIA wanted to continue with these coups. He cited Chile as an example, where the CIA played an active role in the coup against then President Salvador Allende in 1973. Latin America does not want these coups, said Maduro.
