Judge blocks shutdown layoffs and covert CIA action in Venezuela: Morning Rundown
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Trump Authorizes CIA Operations in Venezuela
Above: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office on Oct. 15, 2025. Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Americans fed up with endless wars and CIA regime-changes gave a clear mandate to Donald Trump less than a year ago: to rebuild the country with his America First mindset — and he is failing to make good on his promises. It's outrageous that taxpayers' resources continue to be wasted as if the U.S. government and military were some sort of private militia of a group of foreigners willing to change a regime they dislike.
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump's Venezuela strategy is an unorthodox implementation of realism — and it's brilliant. Maduro has never been as desperate as he is now, and Trump continues to press further. It's in the best interest of the U.S. to put an end to this anti-American narco-dictatorship that threatens the entire Western Hemisphere by harboring Islamic terrorists, exporting criminals and drugs, and carrying out transnational repression.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's American imperialism that threatens regional stability, not the government of Nicolás Maduro. Caracas has been sincere in its willingness to engage in dialogue and de-escalation, but to no avail as Washington is focused on its bipartisan quarter-century-old goal of installing a puppet regime in Venezuela. With extrajudicial killings happening off Venezuela's coast, a U.S. attack in the country is imminent.