President Donald Trump reported today that he has authorized the CIA to act in Venezuela, without specifying exactly what that authorization entails.
Trump responded to a question on the point – after The New York Times earlier revealed knowledge of the matter – with his usual fanciful rhetoric about drugs being sent to the US from Venezuela as part of a government plan and convicts were also sent to that country.
According to US officials cited by The New York Times, Trump decided to undertake these strategies to force the departure of the constitutional president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
The measure, described as a “presidential finding,” would allow the agency to carry out lethal operations in Venezuelan territory or coordinate joint actions with the US Armed Forces, which maintain a presence in the Caribbean with eight warships, a submarine and some 10,000 soldiers.
This movement occurs while Washington interrupts the diplomatic dialogue with the government of President Maduro, and continues with extrajudicial attacks against vessels, under the pretext that they transport drugs.
This American newspaper also reveals that “it is unknown whether the interventions will be carried out actively or will be limited to alleged contingency measures.”
Currently, the United States carries out military actions and bombings in waters near Venezuelan territory with the argument, without support or evidence, of combating drug trafficking, facts that have been severely questioned.
Many world and regional leaders have even considered that there is no evidence that serves as a basis to justify the US military deployment in the Caribbean, putting peace and stability in the region at risk.
