United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday authorized CIA operations against Venezuela and said he was considering carrying out ground attacks against drug cartels in the Caribbean country. The announcement prompted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to shortly thereafter call for rejecting “CIA coups” and “war in the Caribbean.”
So far there have been at least five attacks on small boats of alleged “narco terrorists,” leaving 27 dead. Since August, Washington has deployed warships and aircraft in the Caribbean Sea, off the waters of Venezuela, aimed at counternarcotics efforts. Caracas denounces a “siege” and a “threat” for a “regime change.”
During a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about a New York Times report claiming he had secretly approved CIA covert actions in Venezuela against Maduro. He refused to comment in detail. “But I authorized it for two reasons, really,” he said, before accusing Maduro of leading a “narcoterrorist” regime and of releasing prisoners from jails and sending them to the United States.
When asked whether he had given the CIA authority to “eliminate” Maduro, Trump said: “It’s ridiculous to ask me that question. It’s not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn’t it be ridiculous for me to answer it?”
Trump added that he was considering ground attacks against Venezuela’s cartels. “We are certainly thinking now about land, because we already have the sea well under control,” he declared.
After the latest maritime attack, the Trinidad and Tobago police announced that they were investigating the possible deaths of two of their citizens after receiving reports from residents who warned that two compatriots were aboard the boat that was bombed.
Experts question the legality of such attacks using lethal force in international waters against suspects who have not been detained or interrogated. The Republican government also faces opposition from Democrats in the Legislative branch, who are demanding explanations for those attacks.
No to Coups d’État”
Without referring directly to Trump’s statements, Maduro called for rejecting a possible “CIA coup d’état.” “No to war in the Caribbean, no to war in South America, yes to peace. No to regime change that reminds us so much of the failed endless wars in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya (…) No to coups d’état carried out by the CIA,” Maduro said.
“How long will CIA coups d’état continue? Latin America does not want them, does not need them, and repudiates them,” he added in an event broadcast nationwide on radio and television. Venezuela’s foreign ministry called Trump’s statements “bellicose and extravagant” and insisted that U.S. maneuvers seek to “legitimize” an operation for “regime change.”
“We view with extreme alarm the use of the CIA, as well as the military deployments announced in the Caribbean, which constitute a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment,” it said in a statement. Venezuela denies the drug-trafficking allegations and will submit a complaint on Thursday to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council.
The U.S. military deployment began a few days after the justice system increased to 50 million dollars the reward for Maduro’s capture.
Military Exercises
In response, the Venezuelan leader ordered military exercises in border areas and coastal states, which have been expanded week after week. On Wednesday they were carried out in Venezuela’s largest barrios, Catia and Petare, located in Caracas.
“This morning began with heavy rain, thunderstorms throughout this region of Caracas and Miranda, and nothing stopped the exercise; our soldiers went out with maximum morale to defend the homeland,” Maduro said while reporting on the morning deployment.
State television showed images of armored vehicles mobilizing from dawn in Petare. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello also joked, laughing, about the CIA announcement. “They had never operated here in Latin America, never, never.”
