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As bitter adversaries, the Trump administration and Maduro regime didn’t agree on, well, anything. Except for the fact that the US government wanted Maduro gone.
After that UN meeting, the Trump administration amped up its efforts around the world to isolate and depose the Venezuelan leader, including by levying additional punishing sanctions against his regime. Much of that diplomatic maneuvering played out in public. But the administration also put into motion another, very much secret prong to the US’s regime-change campaign: a covert CIA-run initiative to help overthrow the Venezuelan strongman.
That campaign would pull off at least one disruptive digital sabotage operation against the Maduro regime in 2019. But the CIA-led initiative—alongside the Trump administration’s wider efforts to get rid of Maduro—would fall well short of its ultimate goal. The story of that secret anti-Maduro effort also lays bare the tensions between an administration with hardliners laser-focused on deposing the Venezuelan autocrat and a CIA deeply reluctant, yet nevertheless obligated, to follow White House orders. It shows the limitations of covert, CIA-assisted regime change schemes, particularly when they are not aligned with larger US foreign policy objectives. And it provides new insights into how a second Trump administration—or a Harris presidency—might still try to dislodge the Venezuelan strongman, whose latest sham reelection in July 2024 has again thrust his country into chaos.
The details of that covert CIA-assisted campaign, told exclusively to WIRED by eight Trump administration and former agency officials with knowledge of the anti-Maduro operation, are reported here for the first time.
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Weird to attribute this to Trump instead of America, regime change in Latin America has always been bipartisan.
I didn’t see any democrats opposing the sanctions, withholding of Venezuelan gold reserves, or funding of insurgents. I haven’t seen Biden reverse any of Trump’s policies.
Edit: Why is this getting downvoted? Are there people who think imperialism in Latin American is a partisan issue?
Absolutely this is a deep state US empire evil, where Blinken is no better than Bolton on giving the propaganda in support of evil. There has been zero lifting of sanctions or rapprochement to Venezuela under Biden. Talks meant to lower oil prices were derailed by CIA/deep state/GOP who want high oil prices.
Article is full of brazen interference operations “in the name of democracy”.
US/Blinken/Biden was also behind a laughable coup attempt in this year’s elections. US/Opposition bribed narco-gangs ahead of election to protest their loss. An operation in Georgia this week is similar interference.