The Trump administration quietly authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, granting the agency lethal authority as part of an escalating campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro, The New York Times reported, citing multiple United States officials familiar with the classified directive. The move marks a sharp escalation in the administration’s campaign to oust Maduro, whom it has labeled a “narcoterrorist.” It follows weeks of U.S. military strikes on boats off Venezuela’s