President Donald Trump has authorized the CIA to prepare covert operations inside Venezuela as part of a broader pressure campaign on the Nicolás Maduro regime, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
According to the Times, Trump signed off on CIA planning for clandestine measures that officials described as potential "battlefield-shaping" actions.
The paper reported that while the president has not authorized U.S. combat troops on the ground, the CIA has been instructed to develop options that could include sabotage, cyber operations, psychological campaigns, or other covert tools.
The authorization comes as the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has moved into the Caribbean as part of what military planners call Operation Southern Spear — a buildup the Times notes is the most significant in the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In addition to the covert directives, the Times reported that Trump simultaneously opened new back-channel negotiations with Maduro. According to the paper, Venezuelan officials even floated a proposal in which Maduro would step down after a two- to three-year delay — an offer the White House rejected.
The Times further reported that Maduro has signaled privately that American energy companies could gain access to Venezuela's oil wealth as part of any deal, though the White House has made no commitments.
Trump acknowledged Sunday that discussions "may" be underway, a comment the Times highlighted as his first public nod to the secret talks.
The Times reported that Pentagon planners have drafted strike lists targeting Venezuelan drug-production facilities and military units loyal to Maduro. Trump held two Situation Room meetings last week to review options, the Times said.
Any CIA covert action would likely precede military strikes, according to the Times.
Neither the White House nor the CIA commented on the reported order.
The pressure campaign also includes non-military elements. According to the Times, the State Department will designate Cartel de los Soles a terrorist organization on Nov. 24, allowing the administration to label wide swaths of Maduro's regime as terrorists and potentially enable additional military authorities.
Trump has not yet signaled a final endgame for Venezuela and continues to raise drug trafficking and immigration concerns publicly while discussing Venezuela's vast oil reserves in private.
The United States has already carried out 21 attacks on boats the administration said were smuggling drugs, killing at least 83 people. Though Trump publicly cited fentanyl, the Times said Pentagon officials told Congress in private that the vessels were smuggling cocaine.
Those strikes, conducted without congressional authorization, have drawn criticism from Democrats and legal analysts.
Amid the escalating campaign, the president continues to signal flexibility.
"I don't rule out anything," Trump said Monday when asked about the possibility of ground forces.
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