Trump Administration Announces Approval for Covert CIA Operations in Venezuela

What Happened?

The Trump Administration announced approval this week for the beginning of covert operations inside Venezuela, though no specific actions or details were provided publicly. At a press conference yesterday, President Trump said Venezuela ‘was feeling the heat.’ The announcement comes after several U.S. military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in international waters near Venezuela’s coast. President Trump declined to say whether the U.S. would support regime change in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s President Maduro responded to the announcement by saying, ‘How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups? Latin America doesn’t want them or need them.’

Why it Matters

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been increasing steadily for the past several years, and the Trump Administration's announcement of covert operations further escalated those tensions. Most international watchdog agencies declared Mr. Maduro’s election to be fraudulent, claiming he actually lost Venezuela’s last election by a wide margin. Since the U.S. has already been conducting military strikes on suspected drug vessels near Venezuela, the threats of covert action are credible.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister called the Trump Administration’s actions ‘a grave violation of international law and the United Nations charter.’ He also said Venezuela planned to file a formal complaint against the U.S. at the United Nations. That course of action may increase global attention on the matter, but it is unlikely to result in any action by the United Nations against the U.S., since the U.S. is a permanent member of the United Nations and could simply veto any resolution or action. 

Senior members of the Trump Administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have stated they think regime change in Venezuela would be in the best interest of the United States because they believe the Maduro regime poses a national security threat. The nature of that threat stems from the alleged ties between Maduro and drug cartels, a link that has never been backed up in public with solid evidence. 

There is little doubt illegal drugs are responsible for thousands of American deaths each year. But there is also no reason to believe regime change in Venezuela or the destruction of half a dozen drug vessels will stem the flow of illicit narcotics into the U.S. The primary drivers of that flow are demand and profit. As long as Americans continue to use illicit drugs and demand more of them, it is likely the drug cartels will find ways to profit by meeting that demand. 

How it Affects You

The pattern for the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. from Latin America is fairly clear, whenever one route or method of delivery gets shut down by authorities, drug cartels simply find new routes and change tactics. Venezuela is just one country in South America, and even if a new regime were to take power, drug traffickers could simply move their operations elsewhere as they have in the past. The key to stemming the tide of illicit drugs into the U.S. is to eliminate the demand.