"The federal agent had a daring pitch for Nicolás Maduro's chief pilot: All he had to do was surreptitiously divert the Venezuelan president's plane to a place where U.S. authorities could nab the strongman. In exchange, the agent told the pilot in a clandestine meeting, the aviator would be made a very rich man. The conversation was tense, and the pilot left noncommittal,"
"The untold, intrigue-filled saga of how Lopez tried to flip the pilot has all the elements of a Cold War spy thriller - luxury private jets, a secret meeting at an airport hangar, high-stakes diplomacy and the delicate wooing of a key Maduro lieutenant. There was even a final machination aimed at rattling the Venezuelan president about the pilot's true loyalties."
"Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has taken an even harder line. This summer, the president has deployed thousands of troops, attack helicopters and warships to the Caribbean to attack fishing boats suspected of smuggling cocaine out of Venezuela. In 10 strikes, including a few in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the U.S. military has killed at least 43 people."
A federal agent proposed that Nicolás Maduro's chief pilot surreptitiously divert the president's plane to a location where U.S. authorities could capture Maduro, offering large sums in return. The pilot left noncommittal but provided a cell number, and the agent, Edwin Lopez, continued contact over an encrypted messaging app for 16 months, including after retirement. The effort involved clandestine meetings, private jets and tactics intended to unsettle Maduro about the pilot's loyalties. The episode reflects extensive U.S. measures to remove Maduro, including troop and naval deployments, lethal strikes, CIA-authorized covert actions and an increased bounty for Maduro's capture.
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