The New York media describes the order as “the latest step in the Trump Administration’s increasing pressure campaign against Venezuela” and its authoritarian leader.
MIAMI, United States. – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, would have “secretly authorized the CIA [Agencia Central de Inteligencia de EE.UU.] to carry out a covert action in Venezuela,” as reported The New York Times this Wednesday, citing US officials.
The report describes the order as “the latest step in the Trump Administration’s escalating pressure campaign against Venezuela” and its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. Among the powers, “the new authority would allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean.”
Since the beginning of its offensive against drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea, the Trump Administration has targeted boats with alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela, using lethal military force to prevent their arrival in the United States. Washington has also publicly aligned itself with the Venezuelan opposition and accused Maduro of manipulating the latest elections, a claim widely supported by the international community.
The New York newspaper specified that the CIA could act “against Mr. Maduro or his government, either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation.” Likewise, he warned: “It is not known if the CIA is planning any operation in Venezuela or if the authorities are conceiving it as a contingency.”
Last July, the United States Department of State issued a statement in which he accuses Maduro of having declared himself the winner of the presidential elections “without foundation.” “The United States remains firm in its unwavering support for the restoration of democratic order and justice in Venezuela. Maduro is not the president of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government,” the federal entity also indicated.
The same text specifies that “Maduro is the leader of the organization designated as a narcoterrorist Cartel de los Soles, and is responsible for trafficking drugs to the United States and Europe. Maduro, currently accused by our nation, has corrupted the institutions of Venezuela to help the cartel’s criminal drug trafficking plan to the United States,” the statement concludes.
