(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation, but stopped short of saying they would have authority to remove President Nicolas Maduro.

The remarks are Trump’s most expansive comments on his decision to expand the CIA’s authority to conduct lethal targeting and carry out covert action in the region, which CNN first reported on last week .

The president updated the CIA’s authorities around the same time he signed a secret directive ordering the military to begin striking Latin American drug cartels earlier this summer, sources have said.

Trump tied the authorization to his efforts to go after drug smuggling.

“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Vene

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