President Donald Trump has given his approval for the CIA to carry out covert operations within Venezuela, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The report comes after the U.S. deployed USS Gerald Ford, America’s largest aircraft carrier, to the Caribbean. Citing multiple people briefed on the matter, the Times reported that the covert operations could lay the groundwork for a potentially more broad military campaign.
The unnamed sources further said that back channel negotiations with Venezuela’s government have so far failed to produce results. They say Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered to step down after a delay of ‘a couple years,’ but the Trump administration rejected the offer.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The news was first reported less than a day after Trump labeled Maduro a ‘terrorist’ and left the door open to deploying U.S. troops to Venezuela.
‘No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything,’ Trump said Monday when asked about the possibility.
‘We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here,’ Trump continued, referring to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. ‘She’s done an incredible job with Tom Homan and all of your people.’
The U.S. has carried out a series of strikes on boats that reportedly traffic narcotics in the waters off of Central and South America since September. The administration has carried out at least 21 fatal strikes on the boats since September, with the most recent strike unfolding Sunday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that a criminal network allegedly tied to Maduro and his allies, the Cartel de los Soles, will be designated a foreign terrorist organization as tensions continue to escalate.
Trump added Monday that he would speak with Maduro when asked if he was prepared to directly speak with the dictator.
‘Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I talked to everybody,’ Trump said.
The administration has defended the strikes, saying the U.S. is engaged in an ‘armed conflict‘ with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
