President Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to go into Venezuela and conduct covert operations.
Asked by CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe why he did so, the president said he had two reasons: First, "they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America" and "allowed thousands and thousands of prisoners" and "people from mental institutions, insane asylums" into the U.S. Trump has frequently alleged — without citing evidence — that other countries are deliberately sending people from prisons and mental institutions to the southern border.
He also cited the "drugs coming in from Venezuela."
"A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in from the sea. You get to see that," he told reporters at the White House in what seemed to be a reference to his administration's military airstrikes against suspected drug traffickers in waters off the coast of Venezuela. "But we're gonna stop them by land, also."
The New York Times first reported the president's authorization of CIA operations in Venezuela. Top Trump administration officials have accused Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of controlling the drug cartel Tren de Aragua, which Maduro denies, and the Justice Department has offered a reward for information leading to his capture. In August, the department doubled the bounty to $50 million.
Asked Wednesday whether the CIA had the authority to target Maduro, Mr. Trump said it would be "a ridiculous question for me to answer," but "I think Venezuela is feeling heat."
The Venezuelan government condemned Mr. Trump's "warmongering and extravagant" comments in a statement, and accused the U.S. of seeking "regime change" in Venezuela.
On Tuesday, the president said that the U.S. had struck another small boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people. It was the fifth such strike in the Caribbean, where the Trump administration has asserted its authority to treat alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who may be attacked with military force. At least 27 people have been killed in the five strikes, according to figures released by the administration.
Mr. Trump has also deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and fighter jets to the region as part of what he has said is as an operation to combat drug smuggling into the United States.
CBS News has also learned there are about 10,000 U.S. forces built up in the Caribbean either on ships or in Puerto Rico.
After the U.S.' latest boat strike, Maduro on Wednesday ordered military exercises in the country's biggest shantytowns.
The strikes on alleged drug boats have drawn pushback from lawmakers in both parties. Critics note that Congress hasn't authorized military force against drug traffickers, and argue the Trump administration hasn't provided enough evidence about who was on the boats and what narcotics they were carrying.
Asked by O'Keefe about those concerns, Mr. Trump said lawmakers "are given information that they were loaded up with drugs, and that's the thing that matters." He alleged that "fentanyl dust" has been found on the boats after the strikes.
"When they're loaded up with drugs, they're fair game, and every one of those ships were," the president said.
Eleanor Watson, Olivia Gazis and Ed O'Keefe contributed to this report.
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