WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land operations on the country.

As of Friday, it appears very possible that the US military could take military action against alleged cartel targets in Venezuela within the coming days. These could include drug labs, airstrips used for cocaine shipments, or camps of the armed groups backed by the regime.

U.S. military pressure on Venezuela is a major victory for Marco Rubio, who has swayed MAGA to his cause: toppling leftist Latin American authoritarians.

The U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago is cautioning Americans to stay away from U.S. government facilities on the twin-island nation.

Trump has moved significant U.S. military assets, including eight warships, about 10,000 troops, a nuclear-power submarine and fighter jets, to the southern Caribbean, close to Venezuela. Earlier this week, the president confirmed he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.

A group of bipartisan senators will force a vote on a War Powers Resolution to block the use of force by American troops within or against Venezuela after President Trump raised the possibility of

Legal experts say U.S. strikes against alleged members of Latin American drug cartels are pushing the bounds of international law.

President Nicolás Maduro this week called on civilians to help the country defend itself, while his defense minister warned citizens to “prepare for the worst.”

The operation is the sixth known attack on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean, and the first known to have left some people alive.

Trump confirmed he authorized the CIA to conduct intelligence activity in Venezuela, pointing to two principal motivations for doing so on Wednesday from the White House.