In a move that’s rattled international observers and stoked fears of a new flashpoint in Latin America, U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. The announcement, made at a White House news conference on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, marks a dramatic escalation in Washington’s standoff with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose government has long been a target of U.S. pressure and sanctions.
Trump’s remarks, delivered alongside top law enforcement officials, came in response to a New York Times report detailing a classified directive for the CIA to take action against Maduro’s regime. According to the Times, the Trump administration’s strategy is explicitly aimed at removing Maduro from power. The U.S. has even offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction on drug trafficking charges—a figure that underscores just how high the stakes have become.
When pressed by reporters about the rationale for such an aggressive step, Trump cited two main reasons. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” he said, repeating a claim he’s made before without providing evidence. “The other thing,” he continued, “was Venezuela’s role in drug-trafficking. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela. A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So you get to see that. But we’re going to stop them by land also.”
Trump’s comments suggest a potential shift in tactics. “We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said, hinting at the possibility of U.S. land-based military operations inside Venezuela. This statement follows a series of U.S. missile strikes on small vessels off the Venezuelan coast since September 2, 2025. At least five such strikes have been confirmed, resulting in the deaths of 27 people, including six in the most recent attack, which Trump himself publicized on social media.
The U.S. president has defended these strikes as necessary measures against what he calls “narco-terrorists.” “When they’re loaded up with drugs, they’re fair game,” Trump told reporters. He claimed that there was “fentanyl dust all over the boat after those bombs go off” and insisted, “We know we have much information about each boat that goes. Deep, strong information.” However, critics—including legal experts and even some members of Congress—have pointed out that the U.S. government has yet to present public evidence that the targeted vessels were indeed carrying narcotics destined for American shores.
Many observers have questioned the legality of these actions. According to the BBC, drug traffickers do not traditionally meet the definition of armed combatants under international law, making the strikes highly controversial. Nevertheless, Trump has justified the campaign as a way to save American lives lost to drug addiction, and he has repeatedly accused Venezuela of being a hub for fentanyl trafficking—despite U.S. records indicating that Mexico remains the primary source of the deadly opioid.
In addition to the strikes at sea, Trump has ordered a significant U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean. The Pentagon recently disclosed to Congress that the U.S. is now engaged in what it describes as “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, a legal designation that some critics say stretches the boundaries of the president’s wartime powers. Trump has invoked laws like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to bolster his authority, and has signed secret proclamations laying the groundwork for further lethal action overseas.
One of the most contentious aspects of Trump’s campaign has been his repeated assertion that Venezuela is deliberately sending prisoners and individuals with mental health conditions across the U.S. border to destabilize the country. “Many countries have done it, but not like Venezuela. They were down and dirty,” Trump claimed at the news conference. However, as reported by The New York Times, these statements have been undercut by assessments from his own intelligence community. In May, a declassified U.S. report revealed that intelligence officials had found no direct evidence linking Maduro to criminal groups like Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has nevertheless labeled as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Venezuelan government has responded with outrage. In a statement, Maduro’s administration accused the U.S. of violating international law and the United Nations Charter, arguing that the real purpose of American actions is “to create legitimacy for an operation to change the regime in Venezuela, with the ultimate goal of taking control of all the country’s resources.” During a televised event of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, Maduro drew historical parallels to past U.S.-led interventions. “No to regime change that reminds us so much of the (overthrows) in the failed eternal wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and so on,” he declared, according to reports by Al Jazeera.
Back in Washington, Trump faced pointed questions about whether the CIA had been given authority to “take out” Maduro—a phrase that could be interpreted as sanctioning an assassination. Trump demurred, saying, “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?” He then added, “But I think Venezuela’s feeling heat.”
The lack of transparency around the strikes and broader U.S. strategy has frustrated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that the administration’s actions were moving the U.S. “closer to outright conflict.” She stated, “The American people deserve to know if the Administration is leading the U.S. into another conflict, putting servicemembers at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation.”
Despite these warnings and the mounting international criticism, Trump appears determined to press ahead. He has framed the bombing campaign in the Caribbean as a success, boasting that “we’ve almost totally stopped it by sea. Now, we’ll stop it by land.” He even joked that local fishermen were staying off the waters out of caution. “We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he reiterated.
As the situation unfolds, the world is watching closely. The prospect of direct U.S. military engagement in Venezuela, combined with covert CIA operations and a campaign of targeted strikes, has injected a volatile new element into an already fraught relationship. Whether this will lead to regime change, further conflict, or a dangerous stalemate remains to be seen. But as of now, the heat is very much on in Caracas—and in Washington, too.
