President Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert activities inside Venezuela. This comes after being questioned about a New York Times article headlined Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela, while acknowledging the Presidential Finding that unleashed the CIA in Venezuela. The finding may allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations inside Venezuela. President Trump hinted as much, saying, “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control.”
Trump refused to say if their writ ran to ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
REPORTER: Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?
TRUMP: Oh, I don't want to answer a question like that. That's a ridiculous question for me to be given. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer? But I think Venezuela is feeling heat, but I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat, too.
Trump said he authorized CIA involvement because Venezuelan authorities “have emptied their prisons into the United States of America” and because “we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela.”
#URGENTE | Trump confirma que autorizó a la CIA entrar en Venezuela y dice que ahora EEUU “irá” por tierra:
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) October 15, 2025
“Autoricé por dos razones: primero, vaciaron sus prisiones y nos enviaron criminales (…) Lo otro es la droga. Muchas drogas vienen por mar. Pero ahora vamos a enfocarnos… pic.twitter.com/djGk7FajP6
Any operation targeting Maduro would require an exception to President Reagan's Executive Order 12333, which bans assassinations. This is the E.O. that the Clinton administration permitted to prevent it from killing Osama bin Laden in the decade prior to 9/11. I don't think President Trump will allow himself to be handcuffed by an E.O. that he can abrogate with an E.O., so if I were Maduro, I wouldn't use the "no assassinations" rule as a night light and comfort blanket.
All of this takes place in the context of a gradual ratcheting up of pressure on the Maduro regime, which the administration rightfully classifies as a narco-terrorist state. Maduro has an open U.S. arrest warrant and a $50 million bounty on his head. Tuesday, we saw the American military take out yet another boat connected to the drug trade; This Is the Way: Trump Reports Another Intercepted Drug Boat – RedState. This is the fifth such action. A major deployment of U.S. troops, aircraft, and ships is underway in the Caribbean, and the administration has made it known that they are dusting off war plans directed at Venezuela. My personal view is that the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for at least 300,000, and perhaps as many as 600,000, Venezuelans living in the United States has as much to do with destabilizing the Maduro regime as it does with immigration enforcement.
BACKGROUND:
US Dusts Off War Plans Against Venezuela As Caribbean Troop Build-Up Gains Velocity – RedState
Big: Trump Calls for Non-International Armed Conflict on Cartels in Memo to Congress – RedState
Just for fun, two B-52 bombers from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, hilariously named BUNNY01 and BUNNY02, spent some time boring holes in the sky off Venezuela's coast and causing a run on Depends in Caracas.
This is interesting. 2 B-52’s doing circles off of Venezuela coast. Bunny01 and Bunny02. Show of strength? pic.twitter.com/0iibzOIKg9
— McScoobert (@VickeryTR2024) October 15, 2025
Any direct action operations in Venezuela would probably not be done by the CIA's paramilitary forces. It is much more likely that it will involve U.S. Special Forces operating under "contract" to the CIA, as they did in Laos in the early 1960s, and as some have done since then.
Many of the Trump supporters who get the heeby-jeebies at the use of the U.S. military for basically anything will disapprove of Trump's Venezuela policy. Based on what we know about the as-yet-unreleased National Defense Strategy, which focuses on the United States and the Western Hemisphere, we may see more of this in the future. Where our allies, like Argentina's Javier Milei, get maximum support, those flirting with Russia and China get crushed. Colombia and Panama should probably sit up and take notice.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member