CIA given the green light; Is Maduro the next target?

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has granted the CIA new powers to conduct lethal operations in Venezuela and a series of missions across the Caribbean.

In addition, the CIA could take action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro or his government—either independently or as part of a broader military operation.

According to The New York Times, around 10,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the Caribbean, most of them in Puerto Rico, along with a contingent of Marines on amphibious ships. The U.S. Navy also has eight surface warships and a submarine deployed in the region.

The American newspaper notes that authorizations of this kind are among the most closely guarded secrets of the White House. They are often reassessed and reapproved by each subsequent administration, while the texts of such directives and orders are rarely made public. Only select members of Congress may be informed of them.

While U.S. military operations—such as strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuelan territory—are generally made public, CIA covert actions are usually kept secret. On the other hand, certain CIA operations, such as the one in which Navy SEALs killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, are revealed very quickly.

The CIA orchestrated the 1954 coup that overthrew Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz, leading to decades of instability; took part in the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba; and on several occasions attempted to assassinate former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. It also supplied weapons to dissidents who killed Dominican Republic leader Rafael Trujillo Molina.

In addition, the CIA was involved in the 1964 coup in Brazil, the death of Che Guevara and other machinations in Bolivia, the 1973 coup in Chile, and the fight against Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government in the 1980s.