Months Before Maduro's Arrest, US Was in Contact with Venezuelan Interior Minister

(Patria) - US officials held talks with Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation in which President Nicolás Maduro was arrested, and the communication continued after that.

This was confirmed to Reuters by multiple sources familiar with the case, who say that officials from President Donald Trump's administration warned Cabello not to use the security services and militant supporters of the ruling party, which he controls, to crack down on the opposition.

The security apparatus, which includes intelligence services, police, and the military, remained largely intact after the US raid on January 3.

Cabello, who is listed in the same US indictment for drug trafficking along with Maduro, was not arrested during the operation.

Communication with him, which also concerned US sanctions and the indictment, began in the early days of the Trump administration and intensified in the weeks leading up to Maduro's ouster, according to sources. Contacts continued after Maduro's removal from power.

These previously undisclosed talks are considered key to US efforts to control the situation in Venezuela.

According to sources, if Cabello were to activate the forces under his control, it could cause chaos that Washington wants to avoid and threaten the rule of interim president Delcy Rodríguez.

It is not known whether the talks included issues of future governance of Venezuela, nor whether Cabello acted on US warnings. He has publicly expressed loyalty to Rodríguez, whom Trump has praised.

While the US considers Rodríguez a key figure for the post-Maduro transition, Cabello is seen in diplomatic circles as someone who can either ensure stability or seriously disrupt US plans.

Cabello has been considered the second most powerful person in Venezuela for years. A close associate of former president Hugo Chávez, he later became one of Maduro's most loyal allies and a key figure in the government's repressive apparatus.

As a former military officer, he had a strong influence on the military and counter-intelligence services and has been linked to pro-government paramilitary groups, including the so-called colectivos, which were used to attack demonstrators.

Although Washington sees Cabello as one of the interim pillars of stability during the transition period, US officials fear that due to his past and rivalry with Rodríguez, he could play a destabilizing role.

Cabello has been under US sanctions for years for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

In 2020, the US offered a reward of $10 million for information leading to his arrest, a sum later increased to $25 million. Cabello has repeatedly denied any connection to drug cartels.

After Maduro's ouster, questions arose in Washington as to why Cabello was not arrested along with him. Republican congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar stated that Cabello is "probably worse than Maduro".

Although Cabello has sharply condemned the US intervention since then, reports of raids and population controls in Venezuela have been rarer in recent days.

Both the US and Venezuelan sides have announced that some detainees, whom the opposition and human rights organizations consider political prisoners, will be released.

The Venezuelan government states that Cabello, as Minister of the Interior, oversees this process, while human rights organizations warn that releases are proceeding very slowly and that hundreds of people remain illegally detained.