WASHINGTON - The administration of US President Donald Trump has secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, US officials said. The decision intensifies White House pressure against the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The White House and the CIA declined to comment on the operations.

In recent weeks, the US military has been attacking boats off the Venezuelan coast that they say are transporting drugs. So far, 27 people have died in the attacks.

U.S. officials have made clear, privately, that the ultimate goal is to remove Maduro from power.

The new authority would allow the CIA to conduct lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean.

The agency could take covert action against Maduro or his government, either unilaterally or in conjunction with a broader military operation.

It is not known whether the CIA is planning any operation in Venezuela or whether the authorities are taking a contingency measure.

Military pressure on Maduro

Currently, there are 10,000 American troops in the Caribbean, most of them based in Puerto Rico, along with a contingent of Marines on amphibious assault ships. In total, the Navy has eight surface warships and one submarine in the region.

Trump ordered an end to diplomatic negotiations with the Maduro government this month, frustrated by the Venezuelan leader's failure to heed U.S. demands that he voluntarily relinquish power and officials' continued insistence that they had no involvement in drug trafficking.

The Trump administration's Venezuela strategy, developed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the help of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, aims to remove Maduro from power.

"Many people call me the mother of Venezuela," says María Corina Machado

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In an interview with Coluna in May, the Nobel Peace Prize winner spoke about what it's like to unite the country amid Nicolás Maduro's regime.

‘Narcoterrorism’ accusations

Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security adviser, has called Maduro illegitimate, and the Trump administration describes him as a"narcoterrorist."

Ratcliffe said little about what his agency is doing in Venezuela. But he promised that the CIA under his leadership would become more aggressive.

During his confirmation hearing, Ratcliffe said he would make the CIA less risk-averse and more willing to carry out covert action when ordered by the president, “going places where no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.”

Maduro prevented the democratically elected government from taking power last year.

The United States has offered $50 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maduro on drug trafficking charges in the United States.

The White House accuses Maduro of controlling a criminal gang, the Tren de Aragua. But an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies contradicts this conclusion.

Early in his term, Trump signed an executive order equating drug cartels with terrorist organizations, paving the way for the use of military force against these groups.