Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe has been at the center of a major escalation in United States policy toward Venezuela over the last several days. The Trump administration, with the direct involvement of Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has formally authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and throughout the Caribbean region. This action is seen as an intensification of longstanding efforts to pressure the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.
According to recent coverage from The New York Times and France 24, the order known as a presidential finding has cleared the way for the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out not only intelligence operations but also potentially lethal covert actions. While specifics remain classified, several U.S. officials, speaking anonymously to major outlets, confirm that these new authorities were drafted to counter drug trafficking and the alleged involvement of the Maduro government in narcotics operations. The White House claims these measures are necessary for national security, specifically pointing to narcotics being transported from Venezuelan territory and the alleged infiltration of criminal gangs into the United States.
President Donald Trump told reporters that the orders allow for a significant expansion in the Central Intelligence Agency’s activities and personnel in the Caribbean basin and Central America. While actual plans for an armed intervention to remove Maduro remain undisclosed, Trump admitted to considering the possibility of further military escalation. Ratcliffe’s leadership of the Central Intelligence Agency has made the agency more aggressive and less risk-averse. At the agency’s headquarters, Ratcliffe has overseen an increase in resources and staff for the Americas and Counternarcotics Mission Center. The center’s goal is to empower the Central Intelligence Agency’s role in the Western Hemisphere, particularly with close ties to allied governments and counter-drug programs.
The Central Intelligence Agency is now working more closely than ever with the Pentagon, which has deployed about ten thousand U.S. troops and multiple warships to the region. Although Central Intelligence Agency officers are providing intelligence and surveillance, especially in tracking suspected drug boats, the agency is not believed to be directing the lethal attacks which have so far resulted in the deaths of at least twenty-seven individuals involved in alleged narcotics trafficking.
Critics, including leading members of Congress and organizations focused on transparency, have voiced concerns over the lack of clear legal justification and the risk of unintended consequences from covert action and military escalation. Notably, there are worries about the impact on U.S. relations with Latin American governments and on intelligence-sharing agreements.
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