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US tried to recruit Maduro’s pilot to nab him. Then 'tried' false flag op
Hindustan Times
|October 29, 2025
The federal agent had a daring pitch for Nicolas Maduro’s chief pilot, Venezuelan general Bitner Villegas: All he had to do was surreptitiously divert the Venezuelan president's plane to a place where US authorities could nab the strongman, AP reported.
In exchange, the agent told the pilot in a meeting, the aviator would be made a very rich man.
The pilot left noncommittal, though he provided the agent, Edwin Lopez, with his cell number —a sign he might be interested in helping the US.
Over the next 16 months, even after retiring from his government job in July, Lopez kept at it, chatting with the pilot over an encrypted messaging app. The last known message from Lopez to the pilot was on August 7. “I'm still waiting for your answer,” Lopez wrote.
This story is from the October 29, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times.
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