President Donald Trump “secretly authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert action in Venezuela,” reported the New York Times on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.

The report by Julian E. Barnes and Tyler Pager called the authorization the “latest step in the Trump administration’s intensifying pressure campaign against Venezuela” and its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has been targeting alleged drug smuggling boats coming from the country, using deadly military force to stop them from coming to the United States.

The administration has also stood in solidarity with the opposition in Venezuela and publicly accused Maduro of rigging the last election in the country, a claim widely agreed upon by the international community.

“One year since dictator Nicolás Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner, the United States remains firm in its unwavering support to Venezuela’s restoration of democratic order and justice. Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government,” wrote the State Department in a statement in July, adding:

Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles, and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe. Maduro, currently indicted by our nation, has corrupted Venezuela’s institutions to assist the cartel’s criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States.

The Times report detailed what the authorization allows the CIA to do exactly: “The new authority would allow the C.I.A. to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean.” The Times added:

The agency would be able to take covert action against Mr. Maduro or his government either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation. It is not known whether the C.I.A. is planning any operations in Venezuela or if the authorities are meant as a contingency.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

The post JUST IN: Trump Authorized Covert CIA Action In Venezuela, NYT Reports first appeared on Mediaite.

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