A C.I.A. source within the Venezuelan government monitored the location of Nicolás Maduro in both the days and moments before his capture by American special operation forces, according to people briefed on the operation.
The American spy agency, the people said, produced the intelligence that led to the capture of Mr. Maduro, monitoring his position and movements with a fleet of stealth drones that provided near constant monitoring over Venezuela, in addition to the information provided by its Venezuelan sources.
It is not clear how the C.I.A. recruited the Venezuelan source who informed the Americans of Mr. Maduro’s location. But former officials said the agency was clearly aided by the $50 million reward the U.S. government offered for information leading to Mr. Maduro’s capture.
In his confirmation hearing last year, John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, promised he would lead a more aggressive agency, one willing to conduct covert operations to both collect information and advance American policy. President Trump authorized the C.I.A. to take more aggressive action last fall, and then in November approved planning and preparation for a series of operations in Venezuela.
In late December, the C.I.A. used an armed drone to conduct a strike on a dock that U.S. officials believed was being used by a Venezuelan gang to load drugs on to boats.
One of the people briefed on Mr. Maduro’s capture said it was the product of a deep partnership between the agency and the military and involved “months of meticulous planning.” While the C.I.A. played a critical role in planning and carrying it out, the mission was a law enforcement operation by the U.S. military’s special operation forces, rather than operation carried out under the agency’s authority.
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.
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