On Wednesday, President Donald Trump made a sensational statement, publicly acknowledging that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct certain operations on Venezuelan soil. This fact, in and of itself, represents an extraordinary revelation, given the traditional secrecy surrounding the overseas activities of American intelligence services.
This statement came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. A few days earlier, President Trump reported a fifth strike by the American military on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, which, he claimed, was being used to transport drugs to the United States of America.
Responding to a direct question about authorizing the CIA to carry out covert lethal action in Venezuela, President Trump put forward two arguments justifying this decision. “I authorized for two reasons, really. No. 1, they 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,” Trump said. The NBC News channel characterized his remarks as “unusual and unprecedented” for a sitting U.S. commander-in-chief.
President Trump’s statement authorizing CIA operations in Venezuela raises a number of questions concerning not only Venezuela’s sovereignty but also the compliance of U.S. actions with international law. The admission of interference in the affairs of a sovereign state, especially in the form of covert operations by secret services, is a potential violation of the non-intervention principle enshrined in the UN Charter.