WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect

Donald Trump on Saturday named his social media platform CEO

Devin Nunes to lead an intelligence advisory panel and said his

former intelligence chief Richard Grenell would run "special

missions" in places such as U.S. adversaries Venezuela and North

Korea.

"Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the

World, including Venezuela and North Korea," Trump wrote on his

Truth Social platform. "Ric will continue to fight for Peace

through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST."

Trump did not name any other specific countries such as

Iran

in his post naming Grenell as the "Presidential Envoy for

Special Missions."

Grenell previously served as acting director of national

intelligence during Trump's 2017-2021 term and was Trump's

ambassador to Germany and a special presidential envoy for

Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.

Nunes, a former U.S. lawmaker who runs Trump's Truth Social

platform, will serve as chairman of the President's Intelligence

Advisory Board, which offers independent assessments of

intelligence agencies' effectiveness and planning.

A longtime Trump defender who led the U.S. House of

Representatives Intelligence Committee during part of Trump's

first White House term, Nunes will remain CEO while also serving

on the White House panel, Trump said in a separate post on Truth

Social, which is part of Trump Media & Technology Group ( DJT ).

As committee chair, Nunes alleged that the FBI had conspired

against Trump during its investigation of Russian interference

in the 2016 presidential elections in which Trump defeated

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Devin will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the

House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the

Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent

assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S.

Intelligence Community's activities," Trump wrote.

Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

Kash Patel, served as an aide to Nunes in the U.S. House of

Representatives.

A 2017 U.S. intelligence report said Russian President

Vladimir Putin had directed a sophisticated influence campaign

to denigrate Clinton and support Trump in the 2016 election

campaign. The Kremlin denied meddling and Trump denied any

collusion with Russia.

Trump has vowed to pursue political adversaries and

officials who investigated him when he begins his second term on

Jan. 20.

Trump on Saturday also named IBM ( IBM ) executive and former

U.S. Department of Homeland Security official Troy Edgar to

serve as the department's deputy secretary. He also said he

would nominate businessmen Bill White and Edward Walsh to serve

as U.S. ambassadors to Belgium and Ireland, respectively.