According to a report by Reuters on the 29th, three U.S. officials revealed that U.S. military officials involved in the U.S. government's expansion of operations in Latin America were required to sign confidentiality agreements. They don't know how many members of the U.S. Department of Defense were asked to sign the agreements, nor did they provide further details about the scope of the non-disclosure agreements.
Reuters said the move was extremely unusual because U.S. military officials themselves had been required to keep national security secrets secret. At the same time, U.S. lawmakers said they had no idea of key aspects of the U.S. military's anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean.
Since taking charge of the Pentagon in January this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Hagerseth has taken a series of measures to try to control the flow of information. According to an Oct. 15 memo, he told Pentagon staff that permission must be obtained before interacting with members of Congress. He also launched a leak investigation and asked reporters based at the Pentagon to abide by new reporting policies. Even so, the Pentagon's use of confidentiality agreements in Latin American activities has never been reported before.
Reuters said U.S. military deployments in the Caribbean have recently increased, causing Venezuela to worry about invasions, while the Pentagon’s new initiative has sparked external doubts about the United States. The Associated Press also revealed on the 29th that the United States had attempted to seduce Venezuela’s chief pilot to betray him and promise him huge amounts of wealth, but ultimately failed.
The Associated Press said details of the plan, which ultimately failed, came from interviews with three current and former U.S. officials and a Maduro opponent. The rebellion plan began on April 24, 2024, when an informant informed the U.S. Embassy in Dominica that he had information about Maduro's aircraft. Based on this, Embassy staff Edwin Lopez, who was actually an agent of the National Security Agency, selected the target of the rebellion-Bitna Villegas, Maduro's chief pilot. During the conversation, Lopez made a bold suggestion: While Villegas was flying, he secretly transferred Maduro's special plane to a place where the U.S. authorities could arrest him. In exchange, Villegas would become very rich and loved by millions of compatriots.
The Associated Press said the conversation between the two men was tense, but Villegas made no commitments, but he provided Lopez with his mobile phone number-a sign he may be interested in helping the U.S. government. For the next 16 months, even after retiring in July this year, Lopez persisted in chatting with pilots through the encrypted messaging app. This month, Trump authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and the U.S. government also increased the reward for capturing Maduro to $50 million, a move Lopez tried to take advantage of in text messages to pilots. "I'm still waiting for your answer," Lopez wrote. After that, Lopez sent another text message saying that "there is still time to become a hero of Venezuela and be on the right side of history." But he still did not receive a reply.
In September, when Lopez pressed Villegas with the new number about what they discussed in Dominica, Villegas toughened up and called Lopez a "coward". "We Venezuelans are different," Villegas wrote, "and we are definitely not traitors." An impatient Lopez sent him a photo of them talking last year on a red leather couch in an airplane hangar, with obvious threatening intent. "The time to make decisions is shortening," Lopez wrote. Soon after, Villegas blocked his number.
On Villegas's 48th birthday, Lopez made their contact public. He wrote mockingly on X: "Happy birthday to General Bitner!" The birthday wish was seen by nearly 3 million people and caused an uproar on Venezuelan social media. Maduro's opponents speculate that the pilot has been ordered to return for questioning. Others speculated whether he would be imprisoned. On September 24, the pilot wearing an Air Force flight suit suddenly appeared on a TV program hosted by Venezuelan Interior Minister Cabello. Cabello laughed off any suggestion that Venezuelan troops might be bought off. He praised Villegas's loyalty, calling him a "unswerving and omnipotent patriot." Villegas stood silently to the side and raised his clenched fist to show loyalty.
The World Times special journalist.