U.S. held secret months-long talks with Venezuela interior minister – Reuters

U.S. officials secretly engaged Venezuela’s interior minister Diosdado Cabello for months, urging restraint as Washington prepared actions targeting President Nicolas Maduro, sources told Reuters.

U.S. officials under President Donald Trump held months-long communications with Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, ahead of an operation targeting President Nicolas Maduro, sources told Reuters.

According to the report, U.S. officials warned Cabello not to deploy security forces or pro-government militias to violently suppress political opponents, amid heightened tensions in Venezuela.

Cabello, a long-time Maduro loyalist and widely regarded as the country’s second-most powerful figure, wields significant influence over intelligence agencies, police forces and the military, the sources said.

Although Cabello is named in a U.S. drug trafficking case that Washington has cited to justify action against Maduro, he was not detained during the January operation, Reuters reported.

The previously undisclosed contacts played a central role in Washington’s efforts to prevent unrest and limit instability during a sensitive political moment in Venezuela, according to people familiar with the talks.

Venezuela has faced years of political and economic turmoil, with U.S. sanctions targeting senior officials accused of corruption, drug trafficking and undermining democratic institutions.

Washington has repeatedly expressed concern that internal power struggles within Venezuela’s ruling elite could trigger widespread violence, particularly if security forces fracture or mobilise independently.

Sources warned that if Cabello were to activate forces under his control, it could spark chaos, threaten interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s position, and further destabilise the country.

It remains unclear whether U.S. discussions with Cabello addressed Venezuela’s future governance or whether he heeded Washington’s warnings, leaving uncertainty over the country’s political trajectory.

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