President Trump has acknowledged authorizing the CIA to plan covert operations in Venezuela, potentially including sabotage and psychological operations to pressure the Maduro government. This follows U.S. military strikes on cocaine-transporting vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, which have resulted in at least 105 deaths. Critics label these strikes extrajudicial killings, questioning the legal basis for lethal force against civilians, while the administration defends them as necessary against narco-terrorists.