US President Donald Trump has authorised the CIA to prepare covert operations inside Venezuela as part of a broader pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro's government, a report said.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing multiple people briefed on the matter, that Trump signed off on potential covert measures that could be meant to prepare a battlefield for further action.
At the same time, the report said the White House has reopened back-channel talks with Caracas, during which Maduro at one point signalled he might step down after a transition period.
In a televised address on Monday, Maduro warned that any US military intervention would mark the "political end" of Trump's leadership, accusing figures around the US president of "provoking" an armed conflict to damage him politically.
He reiterated Venezuela's readiness for direct dialogue, saying diplomacy remains his government's "invariable" position.
Since early September, the US has conducted 21 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, it claimed were smuggling drugs, killing 83 people, as Trump has suggested he could also hit alleged trafficking targets on Venezuelan territory.
