President Donald Trump has publicly confirmed authorizing covert CIA operations inside Venezuela and signaled possible U.S. land-based military action—an extraordinary admission that’s sparked international outcry and domestic backlash.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the CIA was greenlit to act against Venezuela to counter “prisoners” allegedly sent to the U.S. and rising drug trafficking. “They have emptied their prisons into the United States,” Trump claimed. “And a lot of drugs are coming in from Venezuela — mostly through the sea.” Advertisement

The confirmation follows reports that at least five suspected drug-smuggling boats, four of which originated from Venezuela, have been destroyed by U.S. forces in the Caribbean since September, killing 27.

Trump also

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