Trump Authorizes CIA Operations In Venezuela, ‘Night Stalkers’ Spotted Near Country (Video)

The New York Times reported on October 15 that the CIA has received authorization to carry out covert operations in Venezuela, with United States President Donald Trump confirming this later on the same day.

The report, which quoted U.S. officials, said that the Trump administration’s strategy is focused on removing President Nicolas Maduro from power.

“I authorised for two reasons, really,” Trump said, answering a question on the report during a White House news conference.

“Number one, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America, and the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and 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,” he added.

When asked if the CIA “had the authority to take out Maduro”, Trump dodged the question, refusing to clarify his stance on changing the regime in Caracas.

“Oh, I don’t want to answer a question like that … That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given … not really a ridiculous question, but it would be a ridiculous question for me to answer. But I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” Trump said.

Trump also revealed that his administration “is looking at land” as it considers further strikes, in what appears to be a hint of possible attacks on Venezuelan territories.

Tensions have been on the rise between Venezuela and the U.S. since August, when the Trump administration doubled the reward for the arrest of Maduro to $50 million on drug trafficking charges then deployed a naval force with thousands of marines close to the country’s shores on a so-called “counter narco-terror operation”.

Since then, the U.S. military has struck four boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, killing at least 27 people.

The latest strike was announced by Trump on October 14. The very next day, two B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of the U.S. Air Force made an unusual flight close to Venezuela.

In addition, a report published by The Washington Post on October 16 revealed that helicopters from the U.S. Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the Night Stalkers, recently flew close to Venezuela during Caribbean training missions. The MV Ocean Trader, a special operation vessel deployed near Trinidad, was apparently involved.

The missions of the Night Stalkers typically include attack, assault, and reconnaissance. These missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

Meanwhile, the MV Ocean Trader was proposed for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command to serve as a special operations base for up to 200 troops, with hangar bays for helicopters, and the ability to carry and launch fast boats.

Venezuela has been taking U.S. threats very seriously and preparing for an invasion. In recent days, its military conducted a series of exercises focused on rapid evacuation and decentralization. Air defense units were especially involved.

Maduro made efforts to reach out diplomatically, going as far as sending a letter to Trump. However, recent reports indicate that Washington cut off all communications.

Trump’s latest remarks indicate that the U.S. is about to escalate even more against Venezuela. This does not necessarily mean that an invasion will be launched. All of this pressure may be, in fact, meant to scare some in Caracas to stage a coup. Recent reports from U.S. media openly talked about such an option.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence

NOW hosted at southfront.press

Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.

The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation

Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com

SOUTHFRONT.PRESS

MORE ON THIS TOPIC: