As the Trump administration considers actions against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, a 50-year-old Senate report on CIA involvement in foreign assassinations has renewed relevance. The Church Committee, established in 1975, exposed covert plots and prompted lasting reforms. Its findings highlight ongoing debates over U.S. intelligence oversight.
The Church Committee, named after its chairman, Idaho Senator Frank Church, a Democrat, was a bipartisan effort launched in 1975 following New York Times reports on CIA assassination attempts in the 1960s and 1970s under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archive noted that from the CIA's creation in 1947 until 1975, the agency operated with little oversight, conducting actions unknown to the American public.
The committee reviewed five cases of CIA involvement in plots, three targeting left-wing leaders in Latin America: Cuba, Chile, and the Dominican Republic. Upon releasing the report, Senator Church stated, "We regard the assassination plots as aberrations. The United States must not adopt the tactics of the enemy. Each time the means we use are wrong, our inner strength, the strength which makes us free, is lessened." Church later described the CIA as a "rogue elephant" out of control.
These revelations led to significant reforms, including President Gerald Ford's executive order prohibiting assassinations of foreign leaders—a policy that persists today, though a gray area emerged post-9/11 attacks, allowing targeting of individuals in active conflicts, such as Osama bin Laden. The committee also spurred the formation of permanent Senate and House Intelligence Committees to monitor intelligence agencies.
Today, amid U.S. clashes with Venezuela, congressional members complain of limited briefings on airstrikes against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean and potential military actions. The U.S. has a history of Latin American interventions, like the 1989 Panama invasion to capture President Manuel Noriega, where troops used loudspeakers blasting songs including "Give It Up" by KC and the Sunshine Band. President Trump has acknowledged unspecified CIA activities in Venezuela, echoing past concerns over covert operations.