"The authorisation reportedly grants the CIA permission to take "covert action" against Maduro and his government, either unilaterally or as part of a larger military operation. Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday that he "authorised" CIA operations because Venezuela "emptied their prisons into the United States of America" and flooded the country with drugs."
"Last month, the administration declared the United States is formally engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels that the president has labelled "unlawful combatants," according to a confidential notice to members of Congress. Trump said defence officials are now "looking at land" strikes."
"The latest action follows another US airstrike that destroyed a boat off Venezuela's coast this week, which the president and administration officials claim targeted drug traffickers. The administration has directed five strikes in recent weeks, killing at least 27 people, in a bombing campaign that critics argue amounts to illegal extrajudicial killings. Trump did not explicitly rule out targeting Maduro directly, dismissing a question about Venezuela's elected leader as "ridiculous." "I don't want to answer a question like that," he said Wednesday."
The authorization grants the CIA permission to take covert action against Maduro and his government, either unilaterally or as part of a larger military operation. The president authorised CIA operations citing claims that Venezuela emptied prisons into the United States and flooded the country with drugs. The administration declared the United States formally engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels labeled as unlawful combatants. Defense officials are considering land strikes. Recent US airstrikes, including one that destroyed a boat, are claimed to target traffickers; five strikes have killed at least 27 people and critics call the campaign illegal extrajudicial killings.
Read at Irish Independent
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