US Sought to Lure Nicolas Maduro’s Pilot Into Betraying the Venezuelan Leader

This handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency shows Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gesturing during an official TV show in Caracas on October 27, 2025. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on October 27, announced he had suspended an energy agreement with Trinidad and Tobago in response to the neighboring island nation’s welcoming of a US warship. (Photo by Marcelo Garcia / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP) (Photo by MARCELO GARCIA/Venezuelan Presidency/AFP via Getty Images)

MIAMI (AP) — A federal agent had a daring plan: persuade Nicolas Maduro’s chief pilot to surreptitiously divert the Venezuelan president’s plane to a place where U.S. authorities could nab the strongman. His plan had all the ingredients of a Cold War spy thriller – luxury private jets, a secretive meeting at an airport hangar and high stakes diplomacy in a delicate dance to lure a loyal Maduro lieutenant to switch sides. There was even a final bit of intrigue aimed at rattling Maduro about the pilot’s true loyalties. More broadly, the scheme reveals the extent — and often slapdash fashion — to which the U.S. has for years sought to topple Maduro.