A United States federal agent attempted to secretly recruit Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s personal pilot to participate in a plan to capture the leader and hand him over to American authorities to face drug trafficking charges. The information is from the agency Associated Press (AP).
The operation involved secret meetings in airport hangars, high-risk diplomacy and attempts to influence the loyalty of the pilot, identified as General Bitner Villegas, who is a member of the presidential guard and Maduro’s regular pilot.
American agent Edwin Lopez allegedly made a proposal to the pilot in a clandestine meeting, offering a large financial reward in exchange for diverting the presidential plane to a location where Maduro could be arrested.
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According to the AP, the pilot did not commit to the plan, but had provided his cell phone number to Lopez, indicating possible interest in collaborating with the US government.
In the following months, even after retiring, Lopez maintained contact with the pilot through an encrypted messaging application, trying to convince him to participate in the plan.
Lopez obtained permission from Dominican authorities to interrogate the pilots and conducted individual interviews, focusing on Villegas, who initially tried to avoid questions but eventually admitted to flying for Chávez and Maduro.
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During the conversations, Lopez offered the pilot the chance to become rich and be seen as a national hero if he helped capture Maduro, but Villegas did not accept the proposal and blocked contact.
After the failed recruitment attempt, Venezuelan opposition allies used social media to provoke the pilot, who reappeared on a Venezuelan TV program reaffirming his loyalty to Maduro.
