'2 reasons': Trump confirms CIA 'covert operation' in Venezuela; Maduro condemns 'regime change' push

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) confirmed that he has authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct a "covert operation" in Venezuela, amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

Trump made the rare admission during a Q&A session at the Oval Office after being asked about a New York Times report on the matter.

“I authorised it for two reasons,” he said. “First, Venezuela emptied its prisons and mental institutions into the United States. They came through the border because of our open-border policy. Thousands of prisoners and mentally ill people entered the country—we’re sending them back. Many countries have done it, but not like Venezuela. They were down and dirty.”


The second reason, he added, was the "flow of drugs" into the US from the South American nation.


Trump did not answer whether the CIA has permission to "eliminate" Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but suggested that the measures are designed to intensify "pressure: on Caracas. "I think Venezuela is feeling heat. ... We're not going to let our country be ruined because other people want to drop, as you say, their worst ... we're not going to take them," he remarked.

In response, Maduro decried what he described as "coups d'etat orchestrated by the CIA."

"No to war in the Caribbean...No to regime change...No to coups d'etat orchestrated by the CIA," he told a committee set up after Washington deployed warships in the Caribbean for an "anti-drug operation."

US-Venezuela tensions
Since early September, US forces have destroyed five suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean—four of which originated from Venezuela—killing 27 people.

Earlier this month, the administration classified drug cartels as “unlawful combatants” and announced that the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, calling the move a necessary escalation to stop the flow of narcotics.

The decision triggered bipartisan backlash in Congress, with lawmakers accusing Trump of committing an “act of war” without seeking legislative approval.

Officials familiar with the issue noted that the administration has yet to present evidence confirming that the targeted vessels were carrying narcotics.

Defending the operation, Trump argued that traditional anti-smuggling efforts had failed.

“We’ve been doing it for 30 years, and it’s been totally ineffective,” he remarked. “They have faster boats—they’re world-class speedboats—but they’re not faster than missiles.”