Details of the US plan to recruit the Venezuelan president’s personal pilot

Details emerged of a secret attempt by a US federal agent to recruit Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s personal pilot, with the goal of luring him to a location where the United States could arrest him in exchange for vast sums of money and guarantees of safety.

The story began in the Dominican Republic in 2024, when federal agent Edwin Lopez, a former US Army officer and senior investigator for the Department of Homeland Security, received a tip about two Venezuelan presidential planes undergoing maintenance at La Isabela Airport in Santo Domingo, in a potential violation of US sanctions.

During the investigation, Lopez discovered that among the pilots tasked with recovering the two planes was General Bitner Villegas, Maduro’s personal pilot and a member of the elite presidential guard.

Then the idea was born: What if he could convince him to defect? ​​

In a secret meeting inside the airport hangar, López offered Villegas the “deal of a lifetime,” which involved landing Maduro’s plane at an agreed-upon location, such as Puerto Rico or Guantanamo Bay, where the Venezuelan president would fall into American hands.

In return, he promised him “great wealth and heroic status” in his homeland.

But the pilot appeared nervous and left his phone number before departing, a sign interpreted as a glimmer of hope for cooperation.

Then, for more than a year, Lopez continued to communicate with Villegas via encrypted apps, even after his retirement in July 2025.

As tensions escalated between Washington and Caracas, the Trump administration doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million.

Lopez seized on the announcement and sent the pilot a message saying, “I’m still waiting for your response,” along with a link to the reward from the US Department of Justice, however, repeated messages went unanswered.

Over time, it appeared that Villegas chose loyalty to the president over money.

When Lopez realized that the plan had reached a dead end, he decided to turn the situation into a psychological war targeting Maduro himself.

In coordination with Venezuelan opposition figures in exile, a former Republican ally in the Trump administration, Marshall Billingslea, posted on X congratulating Villegas on his 48th birthday, along with two photos of him: one from his meeting with Lopez at the airport hangar, and another in his official military uniform with the promotion star added.

The post, which was viewed by nearly 3 million people within hours, sparked a wave of questions in Venezuela about the loyalty of the pilot, who is close to Maduro, especially after a presidential plane unexpectedly returned to Caracas airport minutes after the photo was posted.

But after days of silence and controversy, General Villegas appeared on a live broadcast on state television alongside Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a key pillar of the Venezuelan government.

Villegas silently raised his fist as Cabello described him as an “unwavering patriot,” denying any suspicion of treason.

Thus, the recruitment attempt turned into a public display of loyalty, but at the same time, it exposed the fragility of trust within the presidential circle.

This incident comes as part of a broad US escalation against the Maduro regime since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Trump authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela and sent naval and air forces to the Caribbean to track boats suspected of smuggling cocaine.

According to US news reports, these operations resulted in the deaths of 43 people in ten strikes last summer.

Washington has also continued to seize Venezuelan aircraft and assets abroad, while Caracas insists on describing these actions as political piracy targeting symbols of Venezuelan sovereignty.

It’s worth noting that although Maduro’s pilot recruitment plan failed, it revealed the depth of the shadow war between Washington and Caracas.

This war is waged not only through sanctions or statements, but also through attempts to infiltrate influence from within and exploit every loophole in the regime’s loyalties.

As for Maduro, he emerged from the storm clinging to his crew, but he realized more than ever that the skies in which he was flying were no longer safe.