United States President Donald Trump has appeared to confirm a New York Times report that his administration authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.On Wednesday, Trump held a news conference with some of his top law enforcement officials, where he faced questions about the report. One reporter asked directly, “Why did you authorise the CIA to go into Venezuela?”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“I authorised for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”“The other thing,” he continued, was Venezuela’s role in drug-trafficking. He then appeared to imply that the US would take actions on foreign soil to prevent the flow of narcotics and other drugs.“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela,” Trump said. “A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So you get to see that. But we’re going to stop them by land also.”Trump’s remarks are likely to further escalate tensions with Venezuela, whose leader, Nicolas Maduro, has long been a target for the US president, stretching back to his first term in office.Already, both leaders have bolstered their military forces along the Caribbean Sea in a show of potential force.But the New York Times’ reporting suggests Trump has gone a step further, greenlighting the presence of US intelligence officials on Venezuelan soil to carry out lethal missions.Citing anonymous administration officials, the Times says the new authorisation is part of a broader strategy to topple Maduro. Re …
