The White House has acknowledged granting the Central Intelligence Agency sweeping powers to pursue covert operations in Venezuela aimed at unseating President Nicolás Maduro, in what could result in one of the most aggressive American interventions in Latin America in decades, the New York Times reported.

Donald Trump confirmed on October 15 that he had signed a classified "presidential finding" — the legal instrument required for covert CIA operations — after the American newspaper reported the directive's existence based on accounts from multiple US officials.

The extraordinary admission follows weeks of deadly American military strikes against boats in Caribbean waters, which have killed 27 people since September in what Washington characterises as counter-narcotics operations. Venezuelan officials describe the attacks as extrajudicial killings designed to destabilise the government.

"We are certainly looking at land now, because we've got the sea very well under control," Trump told reporters, suggesting American operations could soon extend to Venezuelan soil.

Venezuela's foreign ministry issued a blistering response, describing Trump's comments as a "very serious violation of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations" that threatens to destabilise the entire region.

The government said it would lodge formal complaints with the UN Security Council and seek "accountability" from Washington for what it termed an illegal policy of aggression. "Impunity for these acts will have dangerous political consequences," the foreign ministry warned.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has mobilised troops and activated the "Independencia 200" defence plan along Venezuela's coast and borders. Vice-president Delcy Rodríguez denounced recent boat attacks as "extrajudicial executions" carried out under the guise of drug interdiction.

In recent months the Pentagon has amassed approximately 10,000 personnel in the Caribbean theatre — predominantly in Puerto Rico — supported by eight surface vessels and a nuclear submarine. American officials acknowledge they have prepared contingency plans for strikes on Venezuelan territory, though it remains unclear whether any CIA operations have yet been mounted under the new authorities.

Trump defended the authorisation by claiming Caracas had deliberately "emptied their prisons into the United States of America" and facilitated narcotics smuggling. "They were down and dirty," the president said, declining to answer directly when asked whether the CIA could now assassinate Maduro.

“Wouldn’t that be a ridiculous question for me to answer? But I think Venezuela is feeling the heat," he said.

The administration has designated the Tren de Aragua criminal gang as a terrorist organisation under Venezuelan government control, an assertion contradicted by the US intelligence community's own assessment earlier this year.

Washington doubled its bounty for Maduro's capture to $50mn in August, describing him as head of the "Cartel de los Soles," an alleged drug trafficking organisation, and accusing him of partnership with Mexican criminal organisations.

However, the legal framework underpinning American operations remains contentious. The administration has declared it is engaged in armed conflict with drug cartels, characterising them as "nonstate armed groups" conducting attacks on the United States. Yet lawmakers and human rights groups have questioned the constitutionality of military strikes in international waters.

“The Trump administration’s authorisation of covert CIA action, conducting lethal strikes on boats and hinting at land operations in Venezuela slides the United States closer to outright conflict with no transparency, oversight or apparent guardrails,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said, as quoted by AP.

“The American people deserve to know if the administration is leading the US into another conflict, putting servicemembers at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation.”

Officials in Caracas argue Washington's ultimate objective is seizing control of the country's substantial oil reserves.

The latest boat strike occurred earlier this week, when American forces destroyed a vessel and killed six occupants using what Trump described as missile fire. The Pentagon has provided no evidence regarding the identities of those killed across five separate maritime operations, nor details of the boats targeted.

CNN reported on October 15 that at least one strike targeted Colombian nationals aboard a craft that had departed from Colombia, raising questions about the scope and targeting of American operations.

Trump’s authorisation recalls a dark chapter in American foreign policy. The CIA notoriously orchestrated Guatemala's 1954 coup, Cuba's Bay of Pigs fiasco, Brazil's 1964 military takeover, and the violent overthrow of Chile's democratically elected Salvador Allende in 1973.

“How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups? Latin America doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them and repudiates them,” Maduro said.

CIA director John Ratcliffe has vowed to pursue a more assertive agency under his leadership, according to the NYT. During Senate confirmation proceedings, he pledged the organisation would become less cautious about risk and more willing to "go places no one else can go and do things no one else can do" when directed by the president.

Whilst the CIA maintains long-standing arrangements for intelligence cooperation with regional governments, including Mexico, these partnerships do not typically encompass lethal unilateral action.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spearheaded Washington’s hawkish Venezuela strategy alongside Ratcliffe. A son of Cuban immigrants, he sees the fall of Maduro as a necessary step for Cuba to rid itself of the communist dictatorship. Like the Biden administration before it, the Trump White House considers Maduro's government illegitimate following last year's disputed election, when the incumbent refused to cede power in what many independent observers deemed a rigged vote. That view is shared across Western capitals and much of Latin America, including in leftist-governed Chile and Brazil.

Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has plunged into turmoil since the death of former president Hugo Chavez in 2013, driven by overreliance on commodities, international sanctions, widespread mismanagement and corruption. Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor, presided over a decade of economic crisis that saw around 8mn Venezuelans flee the country amid increasing government violence and repression.

Multiple analysts have warned that the military build-up and CIA authorisation suggest Washington may be laying the groundwork for comprehensive regime change operations, potentially including direct military intervention, a scenario that would mark a profound break with recent American policy in the hemisphere.