Secret operation to capture Maduro exposes new CIA focus in Latin America

WASHINGTON — A covert CIA team carried out sabotage operations in Venezuela to help ensure that a U.S. military strike force could safely enter the country and capture President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, according to people briefed on the operation.

The undercover agents’ work was a sign of close cooperation between the intelligence agency and the U.S. military, officials said. But it also reflected the agency’s new focus on Latin America, as well as a renewed emphasis on overseas intelligence gathering and covert operations.

American officials insist that the agency’s more aggressive stance — and focus on Latin America — is bringing results. In a closed-door briefing to Congress this month, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said foreign intelligence collection on Latin America had increased by about 51% during his tenure, according to people familiar with the meeting. He also stated that the number of human sources has increased substantially, rising by 61%.

The exact number of reports and sources recruited remains classified, according to officials who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The CIA declined to comment.

A senior U.S. government official declined to confirm the specific operations in Venezuela but said the team provided support to the mission as it took place. The group spent months monitoring Maduro and recruiting people who could pass on information about his movements. It also provided intelligence to military commanders about real-time conditions on the ground, both before and during the incursion.

As part of the operation’s planning, President Donald Trump authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions inside Venezuela. Ten days before the military captured Maduro, the CIA carried out an attack on a pier where members of a Venezuelan gang were believed to be loading drugs onto boats.

The operation was the result of months of planning and the CIA’s new focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. Early last year, Pentagon officials lamented that U.S. intelligence on Venezuela and the Caribbean lagged well behind that of its allies, such as the British.

Ratcliffe took office promising a renewed focus on intelligence gathering and spy recruitment, as well as the goal of making the agency more aggressive and willing to undertake covert actions.

Placing the secret team inside Venezuela is the clearest example of the most aggressive approach, at least the most evident so far. As the United States did not maintain diplomatic relations with Venezuela and its embassy was closed, the clandestine team could not count on the type of diplomatic protection that American spies enjoy on most missions abroad.

The CIA’s involvement in military operations often remains shrouded in mystery for years. But Trump has been unusually open about the agency’s work in Venezuela operations. He publicly confirmed a report last year that he had authorized CIA operations in the country. And he revealed the mysterious operation at the port during a radio interview.

At a news conference after the raid, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised the CIA and other intelligence agencies. “We watched, we waited, we prepared; we remained patient and professional,” Caine said, adding that agencies monitored Maduro’s movements.

Throughout last summer and fall, Ratcliffe met regularly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Caine to plan the operation.