C.I.A. sabotage in Venezuela aided U.S. raid to seize Nicolás Maduro

A covert C.I.A. team conducted sabotage operations in Venezuela to help ensure that a U.S. military strike force could enter the country safely to seize President Nicolás Maduro early this month, according to people briefed on the operation. Officials described the work as evidence of close cooperation between the agency and the military and as a sign of the C.I.A.'s renewed focus on Latin America and on covert operations.

John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, told a closed-door briefing to Congress that foreign intelligence collection on Latin America had increased roughly 51 percent during his time in office and that the number of human sources had risen about 61 percent, according to people familiar with the meeting; the actual number of reports and recruited sources remains classified.

The C.I.A. declined to comment. A senior U.S. official declined to confirm specific operations but said the covert team provided real-time support for the military. The team spent months monitoring Mr. Maduro, recruited people who could relay information on his movements and provided intelligence to military commanders about conditions on the ground both before and during the raid.

As part of planning for the operation, President Trump authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert actions inside Venezuela. Ten days before the military seized Mr. Maduro, the C.I.A. carried out a strike on a dock where members of a Venezuelan gang were purportedly loading drugs onto boats.

Key Topics

World, Cia, Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, John Ratcliffe, Donald Trump