U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in U.S. efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro's government.

President Trump said six "narcoterrorists" were killed in the latest strike, bringing the number of people killed in such attacks since September to at least 27.

The hit-style shooting of two Venezuelan activists in Colombia’s capital is fueling fears among Venezuela’s diaspora that a crackdown on dissent by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeping beyond the South American nation’s borders.

Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, feeling pressure from opponents or enemies, plays Santa. Venezuelans aren’t buying it.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro placed Venezuela on high alert over a major U.S. military deployment near his country's coast.

Venezuela’s autocrat had proposed allocating his country’s oil wealth and other natural resources to the U.S. and ending deals with American adversaries to appease President Trump.

Trump administration escalates pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro through Caribbean naval deployment and cartel strikes in what analysts call modern gunboat diplomacy.

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has committed systematic human rights violations including killings and torture amounting to crimes against humanity, U.N. investigators said in a report on Wednesday.