US Attempted to Kidnap Venezuelan President, According to Associated Press

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent attempted to relocate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to a location where he could be arrested by the U.S. This was reported by the Associated Press.

The agent provided the president's chief pilot with options for relocation to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay. The Venezuelan pilot has not given a final answer but did share his mobile phone number with the U.S. agent, which was taken as a good sign. The pilots were allowed to return to Venezuela, but their planes were seized.

The agent had been corresponding with the pilot for 16 months, trying to persuade him to hand over Maduro. He continued to communicate with the pilot even after the pilot's retirement in July 2025. In August, when the U.S. raised the reward for capturing the Venezuelan president to $50 million, he passed this information to the pilot. However, the pilot eventually stopped responding to the agent's messages.