US gets accused of trying to enlist Maduro’s pilot for kidnap plot
(MENAFN) Reports indicate that a US federal agent secretly approached Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s personal pilot in an effort to capture the leader and hand him over to US authorities on drug trafficking charges. According to sources familiar with the matter, Homeland Security agent Edwin Lopez met with General Bitner Villegas in the Dominican Republic in 2024.
Lopez reportedly offered the pilot financial incentives and protection in exchange for diverting Maduro’s plane to a location where US authorities could arrest him. While Villegas did not commit, he continued to communicate with Lopez for over a year, even after the agent retired in mid-2025. At one point, Lopez reportedly referenced a US Justice Department announcement doubling the bounty for Maduro’s capture to $50 million, urging Villegas to “be Venezuela’s hero.” The pilot ultimately rejected the approach, calling Lopez a “coward” and severing contact.
The disclosures come amid escalating US pressure on Caracas, with President Donald Trump authorizing covert CIA operations in Venezuela and deploying military assets—including warships, aircraft, and thousands of troops—to the Caribbean as part of a campaign targeting narcotics trafficking. US strikes near Venezuela and Colombia in recent months are reported to have caused multiple casualties.
Maduro has denied all allegations, framing them as a pretext for regime change, and described the US covert operations as unprecedented and “desperate.” In response, Venezuela’s military has been placed on high alert, and Maduro highlighted the country’s stockpile of Soviet-era Igla-S air defense systems.
Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, has condemned US actions. The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Washington of orchestrating a coup under the guise of anti-drug efforts, calling it “a flagrant violation of international law and human rights.”
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