Washington unsuccessfully attempted to execute a sophisticated plan to recruit the Venezuelan president’s pilot in an attempt to arrest Maduro, AP reveals.

The Associated Press (AP) revealed Tuesday that the operation focused on Nicolás Maduro’s personal pilot, Brigadier General Bitner Villegas, who was tasked with diverting the presidential plane to a location where U.S. authorities could arrest him.

According to the AP, the information comes from three current and former U.S. officials and a Maduro opponent, in addition to messages allegedly exchanged between Villegas and agent Edwin López, who was in charge of the operation.

How they intended to recruit the pilot

National Security agent Edwin López was reportedly authorized by his superiors and Dominican authorities to hold talks with the Venezuelan pilots of the aircraft, paying special attention to Villegas.

The outlet claimed that the U.S. federal agent met with Maduro’s pilot in the Dominican Republic in 2024 and allegedly offered Villegas money and protection in exchange for diverting Maduro’s plane.

At the end of the conversation, López reportedly made his proposal: he promised Villegas a significant financial reward and the chance to win “the affection of millions of his compatriots.” Among the possible destinations for Maduro’s capture were the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. According to sources, the pilot left without making any commitments, but gave the agent his cell phone number.

Useless insistence

López concentrated his efforts on contacting the pilot by phone, but according to AP, despite exchanging messages a dozen times, the conversations weren’t producing the results the American agent had hoped for.

In July 2025, López retired but continued with the plan, contacting Venezuelan opposition politicians abroad, who agreed to collaborate.

López cited a U.S. Department of Justice announcement doubling the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million, urging Villegas to “be Venezuela’s hero.”

In the last contact the agent made on September 18, the pilot finally refused, calling López a “coward” and writing, “Venezuelans are of a different kind. The last thing we are is traitors.” As a last resort, López sent him a photo of the two taken during their conversation in the Dominican Republic and mentioned Villegas’s children by name, suggesting a better future awaited them in the U.S. In response, Villegas blocked his number.

Seeing that the pilot wouldn’t join the plan, the organizers attempted to intimidate him by spreading allegedly compromising messages on social media in an operation led by Marshal Billingslea, a former U.S. national security official described by the AP as “a close ally of the Venezuelan opposition” and known for sending disparaging messages against Maduro.

There is no desertion here

A video released in September by Venezuelan Defense Minister Padrino López suggests that the US plan to capture presidential pilot Bitner Villegas failed. During an event at the Fuerte Tiuna air base, the minister stated that “the commitment of Venezuelan commanders is stronger than ever” and denounced the US “cognitive warfare” against the Armed Forces and democracy.

Villegas also appeared on the program Con el Mazo Dando, where Minister Diosdado Cabello denied rumors about his alleged desertion, calling him and another general “true patriots, foolproof” and showing that they continued to work alongside the people.

Since his return to the White House, US President Donald Trump has adopted a tougher stance toward Venezuela.

Since last September, the United States has attacked small boats in the Caribbean near Venezuela, alleging suspected drug trafficking. Under this pretext, Trump also authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.

These attacks come amid rising tensions, as Trump strengthens the US military presence in the Caribbean, including guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and around 6,500 troops.

Caracas denounces these actions as “an armed aggression to impose regime change” and warns that they seek to “seize Venezuela’s oil, gas, gold, and all of its natural resources.”