The days go by and more and more things are known about one of the most important military operations of the United States in Latin America: the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
An intervention that included a wide aerial deployment, with more than 150 types of aircraft, and members of the elite Delta Force unitspecialized in this type of special operations. All this under the support of the different US intelligence agencies.
But there is something key that guaranteed the success of the kidnapping operation of the Venezuelan dictator, and it is the data that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had, whose agents had been working for months con the support of a very close ‘mole’ to Nicolás Maduro himself since the previous summer.
The information that this infiltrator provided to the US intelligence services focused, above all, on locate the position of the Venezuelan president and his wife, Cilia Flores. Finally, they found them in a room resting in a military facility near Caracas.
Typical of a science fiction movie, the Delta Force forces managed to intercept the leader and his spouse before they managed to reach that bunker where they would take refuge from the American threat. After his capture, Maduro was transferred to New York to face trial on narcoterrorism chargesaccording to the complaint filed by United States Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Theories begin to abound and the American media talk that a Venezuelan government official, recruited by the CIA, handed over to the United States authorities data on the location of President Nicolás Maduroallowing US special forces to arrest him on Saturday, reported The New York Timesciting sources with direct knowledge of the operation.
Although it is an unconfirmed theory, there are certain experts who suggest that Delcy RodrÃguez herself, the already interim president of Venezuela, It would be that supposed ‘mole’ who betrayed Madurobut they are theories that have not been officially confirmed yet, just expert guesses.
In an interview on the YouTube channel of Venezuelan journalist Nitu Pérez Osuna, intelligence and drug trafficking specialist MartÃn Rodil stated that the operation was a success thanks to Delcy RodrÃguez. The expert called the interim president an alleged ally of Trump and stated that she would have been the one who negotiated with the CIA.
“He played a very important role because he betrayed Maduro. It was the key piece to locate it; It is she who delivers it. That is why he remains temporarily in power,” the expert assured the journalist.
The news of New York Times (NYT) does not reveal the identity of the source that he reported to Washington, only says that he tracked down Maduro in the days and moments before his capture. But he reiterates that it is not known what the circumstances of that recruitment were like.
Rodil bases his theory to accuse Delcy on the fact that the interim president and the CIA they would have negotiated an agreed exile for the leader. “She could be arrested at any time and also faces judicial proceedings in the United States,” he explained. His brother, Jorge RodrÃguez, president of the National Assembly, would also be involved in these events, the expert denounced.
Monitoring since August
According to the Reuters agency, citing a source familiar with the operation, the CIA sent a small team to the field since August, which was able to provide information about Maduro’s life patternwhich made his capture easy, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Although the operation was a surprise attack, these sources assure that The planning was one of the most complex. that the United States executed in recent times and had been preparing for several months, including with detailed rehearsals. Information confirmed by several media outlets.
The information that the CIA worked with, provided by that supposed ‘mole’, It was the one that helped the agents locate and locate Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve, according to what the President of the United States, Donald Trump, said in the press conference on Saturday after the operation was carried out.
According to General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intelligence agency team managed to track his movementshis place of residence, his trips, his food, his clothing and even the pets he had.
Undercover agents revealed that the coastal facility that US drones bombed in September was used to store drug shipments from the Tren de Aragua cartelconsidered by United States authorities as a narcoterrorist organization. In addition, the dock functioned as a boarding point from where the boats transported cocaine to different destinations.
$50 million reward
Former US officials told the NYT that Washington had offered a $50 million reward for information that led to the capture of Maduro.
The Venezuelan dictator is already on American soil and is scheduled to declare this Monday in the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan. During this hearing the charges against you will be formally read and initial issues in the judicial process will be discussed.
Nicolás Maduro and his wife face each other in the US four federal charges related to narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.
He is accused of conspiring to distribute cocaine for terrorist purposes, planning the illegal importation of drugs into the country and using high-caliber weapons in the framework of these operations. Besides,He is accused of having coordinated with international criminal groups and having benefited from state corruption to facilitate drug trafficking. If found guilty, the Penalties could include decades in prison or even life imprisonment.