Trump Confirms He Authorized CIA Covert Operations Inside Venezuela

Asked by reporters on October 15, 2025 whether he had authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela, President Trump confirmed that he had. He linked the authorization to drug trafficking and migration, saying the United States would not "let our country be ruined because other people want to drop ... their worst" people into the country, and repeated his claim that each interdicted vessel "saves 25,000 American lives." He also said the administration was considering expanding from maritime strikes to strikes on land targets. Pressed on whether the CIA had authority to remove Nicolas Maduro, he declined to answer, calling it a question he would not respond to.

Covert action findings are ordinarily briefed only to the congressional intelligence committees and are not acknowledged publicly. A president confirming one from the podium, while simultaneously describing possible ground strikes in a country the United States is not at war with, moves a decision normally subject to closed oversight into open political argument without the accompanying legal justification.

The administration did not release the finding or a public legal rationale. Congressional efforts to constrain military action against Venezuela continued into 2026.