US to invade Venezuela? Donald Trump says CIA is in and land ops could be next

President Donald Trump has publicly confirmed authorizing covert CIA operations inside Venezuela and signaled possible U.S. land-based military action—an extraordinary admission that’s sparked international outcry and domestic backlash.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the CIA was greenlit to act against Venezuela to counter “prisoners” allegedly sent to the U.S. and rising drug trafficking. “They have emptied their prisons into the United States,” Trump claimed. “And a lot of drugs are coming in from Venezuela — mostly through the sea.”

The confirmation follows reports that at least five suspected drug-smuggling boats, four of which originated from Venezuela, have been destroyed by U.S. forces in the Caribbean since September, killing 27.

Trump also revealed his administration is “looking at land” for potential operations, though he refused to say whether Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be directly targeted.

Maduro responded sharply, accusing the CIA of continuing its decades-long pattern of regime change and interference in Latin America. “No to the coups carried out by the CIA,” he said in a televised address. “Latin America doesn't want them, doesn't need them and repudiates them.”

Switching briefly to English, Maduro appealed directly to Americans: “Not war, yes peace... The people of the United States, please. Please, please, please.”

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry called Trump’s remarks “bellicose and extravagant,” and a violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Trump’s comments have triggered criticism in Washington as well. Senator Jeanne Shaheen warned the actions bypass congressional oversight and edge the U.S. toward open conflict.

Earlier this month, Trump’s administration labeled drug cartels as “unlawful combatants,” framing the military strikes as part of an “armed conflict”—a move human rights advocates fear opens the door to extrajudicial actions.

“They’re not faster than missiles,” Trump said of the drug boats. “We’ve been doing interdiction for 30 years. This works.”