President Donald Trump shot down a question on whether the CIA has been authorized to “take out” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, calling it “ridiculous.”
Trump confirmed that he has approved plans for the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela as well as suggest that U.S. land strikes against the South American country could occur.
The plans, first reported by The New York Times, mark a sharp escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuela, which has already seen the White House approve several deadly airstrikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean.
While taking questions in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump was asked if the CIA had been authorized to kill Maduro during these covert operations.
“Oh, I don’t want to answer a question like that. That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given,” Trump replied. “Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer? But I think Venezuela is feeling heat. But I think a lot of other countries are feeling heat too.”
Maduro, a totalitarian leader who is internationally accused of remaining in power despite losing last year’s presidential election in Venezuela, has long been a target of Trump’s criticism.
The Republican accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel in Venezuela—an allegation Maduro strongly denies. In August, the Trump administration doubled its bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, alleging he is “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.”
Venezuela’s most influential opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize over Trump due to her fierce battle against Maduro and his attacks on Democracy in the country.
Trump has defended the killing of 27 suspected drug smugglers on Venezuelan boats, which faced accusations of amounting to war crimes, as the attacks occurred in international waters. Any strikes or lethal operations on Venezuelan soil during CIA missions would mark a significant escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. The U.S. president also attempted to justify the plans while pushing unsubstantiated claims that Venezuela is sending prisoners and individuals from “mental institutions” into the United States.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump’s authorization of potential CIA land operations in Venezuela is leading the U.S. “closer to outright conflict with no transparency, oversight, or apparent guardrails.”
“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,” Shaheen said in a statement.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil also accused Trump’s comments of “warmongering” and violating international law.
“We view with extreme alarm the use of the CIA, as well as the military deployments announced in the Caribbean, which amount to a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment against Venezuela,” Gil said via CNN.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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