On the 15th local time, U.S. President Trump said that the United States had confirmed that it would consider launching a land operation to carry out ground strikes against drug trafficking groups, and confirmed that it had authorized the CIA to carry out operations in Venezuela.
Earlier, some media reported that the U.S. government had secretly authorized the CIA to carry out secret operations in Venezuela. The new authorization allows the CIA to conduct lethal covert operations alone or in conjunction with the U.S. military, which is also preparing for potential attacks in Venezuela.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration submitted a memorandum to Congress, saying that the United States and drug trafficking groups identified by the United States as terrorist organizations are "in a non-international armed conflict". The memo did not specify which drug cartels were involved, nor did it explain how individual targets could be identified as drug cartel members. Several Democrats in the U.S. Congress accused the Trump administration of abusing its power by using the military to crack down on drug cartels, and did not provide "any credible legal basis, evidence or intelligence".
Venezuelan President Maduro has repeatedly accused the United States of intent on regime change in Venezuela through military threats and military expansion in Latin America.