U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized a plan for the CIA in Venezuela, according to a New York Times report. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata has more details.

Washington

According to a New York Times report cited by CBS News, President Trump has authorized plans for CIA covert operations in Venezuela, with U.S. operatives already active on the ground. The administration is reportedly using these operatives to identify targets, conduct backchannel negotiations, and gather intelligence related to both the Maduro regime and drug interdiction efforts.

The Trump administration has made its desire for President Nicolás Maduro to step down clear, offering a $50 million bounty for information leading to his arrest. While the U.S. has increased its military presence in the region, analysts suggest that covert actions are being prioritized over direct military intervention to minimize operational risks and vulnerabilities.

Trump authorizes plans for CIA covert operation in Venezuela: report

Let's talk about the president and what he had to say yesterday about talks with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. He says he's open to it. But The New York Times is reporting that the president has also authorized plans for covert operations on land. And as we've been reporting in just the past few days, the U.S. has ramped up its military presence in the region. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie Daggett is joining us now live from Puerto Rico. Charlie, good to see you, my friend. So what do we know about this Times report about this covert action, the latest military flex, which, and when we say covert action on land, that essentially means boots on the ground. Right. So, Vlad, first of all, let's pick apart the report a little bit. And of course, we've got to put it on The New York Times, but it should stand to reason. First of all, President Trump told our Ed O'Keefe that CIA operatives were already on the ground in Venezuela. So it should stand to reason they're doing something there. What do CIA operatives do? Well, they pick out targets. They speak to people. They infiltrate. They engage in backchannel talk. So even some of the negotiations that are happening when President Trump says we're tackling talking to the Nicolás Maduro regime, that means that the back channels are taking place, too, because you'll have people on the ground trying to convince Nicolás Maduro the easiest way out. And President Trump and the Trump administration has made clear they want him to go. I mean, there's a $50 million bounty and anything leading to his arrest. So there are many options that the president is considering, and it stands to reason that this covert—hard to call it covert when he says that there are CIA operatives there. It's kind of overt. But that's part of, you know, what the military calls PSYOPs, too, to sort of give Nicolás Maduro the idea that we've already infiltrated Venezuela. And in addition, because we have to remember that, ostensibly, this is still about drug interdiction, some of those CIA operatives would also be looking at the drug trade. Where are the potential targets that the United States could reach if there were to be airstrikes, or more importantly, if there's to be a ground invasion? What is important about that article, and if those operations are underway, it is not likely when you've got a number of CIA operatives on the ground, they're going to try to exhaust whatever they can that way before they start launching any kind of military strikes, because obviously they would be vulnerable, as well, because of the situation that we're talking about here, if that makes sense at all. It makes total sense. Charlie Daggett, reporting from Puerto Rico. Charlie, we appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

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