What happened

President Donald Trump Wednesday confirmed he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and said he was also considering military strikes inside the country. Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. military had destroyed a fifth boat in the Caribbean, killing six more alleged drug traffickers. With “the sea very well under control,” he told reporters Wednesday, “we are certainly looking at land now.”

Who said what

Trump said he approved the CIA intervention because Venezuelan authorities “have emptied their prisons into the United States” and because “we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela.” He provided no evidence to back up either claim. When asked if the CIA had permission to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, Trump called it a “rid

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