A U.S. Homeland Security agent, Edwin Lopez, spent over a year trying to persuade Nicolás Maduro’s chief pilot to divert the Venezuelan president’s plane so that U.S. authorities could arrest him.
The plan involved secret meetings, encrypted communication, and multiple follow-up attempts to persuade Colonel Bitner Villegas to defect, referencing the U.S. reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, which had risen to $50 million (€43 million) in August.
In one message, Lopez wrote:
The window for a decision is closing. Soon it will be too late.
Despite repeated contact, Villegas did not respond and eventually blocked Lopez’s number.
The U.S. government subsequently seized one of Maduro’s jets registered in San Marino in September 2024 and another in February 2025. Lopez told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the plane contained a “treasure trove of intelligence,” including the names of Venezuelan air force officers and detailed information about its movements.
In a widely seen television appearance, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello praised Villegas as an “unfailing, kick-ass patriot,” signaling his loyalty to Maduro. The Venezuelan government condemned the U.S. aircraft seizures, accusing Rubio of “brazen theft.”
The U.S. has offered $50 million for information leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest. He is accused of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” with direct links to criminal organizations including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
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