President Donald Trump refused to answer whether he has authorized the CIA to ‘take out’ Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, calling the question “ridiculous.” The president acknowledged during a press conference Wednesday (15 October) that he has given the CIA the green light to conduct covert action in Venezuela, saying the country has, “emptied their prisons into the United States.” “Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?” a reporter asked. “ Oh, I don't want to answer a question like that,” Trump responded. “That's a ridiculous question for me to be given.”

But the president would not be drawn on whether the CIA had been told to topple Nicolas Maduro.

Move by US marks sharp escalation in efforts to pressure Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s regime

President Donald Trump refused to answer whether he has authorized the CIA to ‘take out’ Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, calling the question “ridiculous.” The president…

US president has taken a series of escalatory steps that appear aimed at toppling the Venezuelan government.

The CIA is authorized to conduct operations in Venezuela and likely has been for at least a couple of months, President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday.

Asked why he authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela, Trump told reporters his reasons were migration of Venezuelans to the United States and drug trafficking.

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday decried what he called “coups d’etat orchestrated by the CIA” shortly after US counterpart Donald Trump said he was…

Trump confirmed he has green-lit CIA covert operations in Venezuela, and that ground attacks might be next.