Venezuela Condemns US Moves Targeting the Country

Venezuela Condemns US Moves Targeting the Country Venezuela Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to authorize CIA covert operations and potential land strikes in Venezuela, denouncing it as a severe violation of international law and an attempt at regime change, MercoPress reported. Maduro’s administration said this week that it would file a complaint with the United Nations Security Council and the Secretary-General, calling for accountability and urgent measures to avoid military escalation in the region. Trump confirmed Wednesday that his administration secretly cleared the CIA to carry out covert and potentially deadly operations on Venezuelan territory, escalating a campaign against Maduro and his alleged role in smuggling drugs to the US. The US recently deployed about 10,000 troops, eight warships, a nuclear-power submarine, and fighter jets to the Caribbean. Over the past month, the US military has carried out at least five strikes targeting boats off the Venezuelan coast, arguing they are smuggling drugs, Politico noted. The operations have killed 27 people so far, including six during the latest strike on Tuesday. United Nations officials said the raids amount to “extrajudicial executions.” Trump told reporters that his administration has “almost totally stopped” drug trafficking by sea and is now considering strikes on Venezuelan territory. “We are certainly looking at land now because we have the sea very well under control,” Trump said. Maduro ordered military exercises and said he was mobilizing the military, police, and civilian militia to defend the oil-rich country. While the US emphasized that the recent strikes were carried out in international waters, the new clearance by the White House would allow the CIA to conduct lethal operations in Venezuela as well as a range of other activities throughout the Caribbean. While it remains unclear whether the CIA is planning attacks on Venezuela, the spy agency has previously conducted numerous operations in South America, a legacy that prompted Maduro to say “No to CIA-orchestrated coups d’état” while appealing for peace on TV on Wednesday. US officials have privately acknowledged that the ultimate goal of the campaign is to remove Maduro from power, the New York Times reported. The Trump administration does not recognize him as a legitimate president because of an election last year it deems fraudulent. At the same time, the US has accused him of leading the Cartel de los Soles – an accusation that he has denied. The US has also offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro, the BBC wrote. Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize last week, has been calling for greater US support to fight what she considers a “war” on her country by Maduro, and has praised Trump’s efforts to counter the Venezuelan leader, she told CNN.