President Trump confirmed the authorization of CIA action in Venezuela, and indicated his administration is exploring land strikes inside the South American country.

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.

Venezuelan government officials floated a plan in which President Nicolás Maduro would eventually leave office, a bid aimed at easing mounting U.S. pressure on the government in Caracas.

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Thursday defended the Trump administration’s CIA operations in Venezuela to thwart “designated terrorist gangs” that are trafficking drugs by land and sea.

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the government shutdown, which has now stretched to two weeks.