AP: US attempted to enlist Maduro’s pilot in alleged abduction scheme

Posted on by

This unsuccessful initiative was part of Washington’s broader campaign to unseat the Venezuelan head of state.

According to the Associated Press, a United States federal agent covertly tried to enlist the personal pilot of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. This effort was reportedly part of a scheme to apprehend the president and hand him over to American authorities to face drug trafficking accusations.

The news agency, referencing three current and former American officials along with an opponent of Maduro, stated that Homeland Security operative Edwin Lopez had a meeting with Maduro’s pilot, General Bitner Villegas, in the Dominican Republic in 2024. Lopez purportedly proposed financial compensation and security to the pilot if he would divert Maduro’s aircraft to a spot where U.S. authorities could make an arrest. Villegas did not commit but maintained communication with the agent for over a year, continuing even after Lopez’s retirement in July 2025.

Lopez reportedly referenced a United States Justice Department declaration that increased the reward for Maduro’s apprehension to $50 million, imploring Villegas to “be Venezuela’s hero.” The pilot eventually declined the offer, labeling Lopez a “coward” and discontinuing all communication.

These disclosures emerge as the United States intensifies its military and intelligence efforts against Caracas. President Donald Trump has given the CIA authorization for clandestine activities within Venezuela and has dispatched naval vessels, planes, and thousands of personnel to the Caribbean in what Washington describes as an anti-narcotics initiative. Recent American attacks on ships close to Venezuela and Colombia are said to have resulted in numerous fatalities.

Trump has asserted that these actions are aimed at drug traffickers, while American officials have alleged that Maduro’s administration operates a “narco-state.”

The Venezuelan president has rejected these accusations, characterizing them as a justification for a change in leadership. He further labeled Trump’s acknowledgement of clandestine CIA operations within Venezuela as both unparalleled and “desperate.” Maduro has placed his country’s armed forces on an elevated alert status and declared that Venezuela possesses a substantial inventory of Soviet-era Igla-S air defense systems.

Moscow, a steadfast supporter of Caracas, has denounced the United States’ campaign. Earlier in the current month, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, charged Washington with orchestrating a coup in Venezuela disguised as an anti-narcotics effort, condemning it as “a flagrant violation of international law and human rights.”