Outpoll | Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Action in Venezuela

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Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Action in Venezuela

Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Action in Venezuela

1 day ago7 min read7 comments

In a move that echoes the geopolitical gambits of a bygone Cold War era, the authorization of CIA covert action in Venezuela by the Trump administration marks a significant and perilous escalation in the long-standing campaign to unseat the regime of Nicolás Maduro. While the presidential directive, signed amidst the guarded silence of the West Wing, pointedly refrained from explicitly mandating a coup d'état, the very act of unleashing the Agency’s formidable toolkit of political warfare, economic sabotage, and psychological operations in a nation already teetering on the brink of collapse speaks volumes.This is not merely a policy shift; it is the opening of a new, shadowy front in a conflict that has already seen crippling sanctions, recognition of a parallel government, and veiled threats of military force. The historical parallels are stark and sobering.One need only recall the CIA’s pivotal role in the 1954 overthrow of Guatemala’s Jacobo Árbenz or the protracted and bloody covert campaigns in Nicaragua and Angola to understand the potential trajectory. The Venezuelan crisis, a tragic symphony of hyperinflation, mass exodus, and humanitarian catastrophe, now risks being amplified by the unpredictable and often brutal calculus of covert action.Expert commentary from seasoned intelligence analysts suggests the operational goals likely extend beyond simple regime change, aiming instead to systematically dismantle the Maduro government’s pillars of support: fomenting dissent within the ranks of the military, disrupting the illicit gold and oil networks that fund the regime, and amplifying the message of opposition leader Juan Guaidó through clandestine media channels. However, the consequences of such a path are fraught with peril.A failed operation could cement Maduro’s grip on power, allowing him to rally nationalist sentiment against a blatant foreign intervention. A successful one could plunge the country into a Libya-style power vacuum, where various armed factions, including the notorious colectivos and dissident military elements, vie for control over the world’s largest oil reserves.Furthermore, this authorization inevitably draws the ire of both Russia and China, who have substantial economic and strategic investments in Caracas, potentially transforming a regional struggle into a proxy conflict between great powers. The analytical insight here is clear: by choosing the covert path, the administration is betting that the application of calibrated pressure from the shadows can achieve what overt economic and diplomatic pressure has thus far failed to accomplish. Yet, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, once the genie of covert action is let out of the bottle, its movements are notoriously difficult to control, and the fallout often extends far beyond the initial target, reshaping the geopolitical landscape for decades to come.