Trump to authorize CIA plans for covert action in Venezuela

WASHINGTON (NYT) — With the largest U.S. aircraft carrier now positioned in the Caribbean, President Donald Trump has approved additional measures to pressure Venezuela and prepare for the possibility of a broader military campaign, according to multiple people briefed on the matter.

Trump has signed off on CIA plans for covert measures inside Venezuela, operations that could be meant to prepare a battlefield for further action, these people said. At the same time, they said, he has authorized a new round of back-channel negotiations that at one point resulted in President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela offering to step down after a delay of a couple of years, a proposal the White House rejected.

It is not clear what the covert ac

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