U.S. Held Quiet Talks With Venezuela’s Power Broker Cabello Before and After Maduro’s Ouster

BY ROSEMARY

Senior officials in the Trump administration held discreet discussions with Venezuela’s hardline interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, for months before the U.S. operation that led to the removal of President Nicolás Maduro, and have remained in contact with him since, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The conversations, which had not previously been disclosed, were aimed at warning Cabello against mobilizing the powerful security apparatus and pro-government militant groups under his influence to crack down on political opponents, four sources said. Those forces — including intelligence agencies, police units and segments of the armed forces — have largely remained intact following the U.S. raid on January 3 that ended Maduro’s rule.

Cabello, 62, is named alongside Maduro in a U.S. drug-trafficking indictment that the Trump administration cited in justifying its action against the Venezuelan leader. Despite that, Cabello was not targeted or detained during the operation, a decision that has drawn scrutiny in Washington and among Venezuelan opposition figures.

According to two sources familiar with the exchanges, U.S. outreach to Cabello began in the early days of Trump’s current term and intensified in the weeks leading up to Maduro’s removal. Four people said communication channels have remained open since the change in power, underscoring Washington’s concern that Cabello’s actions could determine whether Venezuela enters a period of relative stability or slides into renewed violence.

The discussions have included warnings about the consequences of unleashing repression as well as references to the sanctions imposed on Cabello and the criminal charges he faces in the United States. It remains unclear whether the talks touched on Venezuela’s longer-term political future or the role Cabello might play in a post-Maduro transition. It is also not known whether Cabello has complied with U.S. warnings, though he has publicly pledged unity with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, whom Trump has so far portrayed as a stabilizing figure.

U.S. officials view Rodríguez as central to Washington’s strategy for managing Venezuela after Maduro, particularly as the United States seeks to secure access to the OPEC member’s vast oil reserves during an undefined transition period. At the same time, Cabello is widely regarded as a potential kingmaker — or spoiler — whose control over security forces and loyalist militias gives him the power to either preserve order or ignite unrest.

One person familiar with the matter said Cabello has communicated with U.S. officials both directly and through intermediaries. All sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the contacts.

Neither the White House nor the Venezuelan government responded to requests for comment.

Cabello has long been considered Venezuela’s second most powerful figure, trailing only Maduro during his years in office. A former military officer and close ally of late President Hugo Chávez, Cabello became one of Maduro’s most loyal and feared enforcers, associated with the harsh suppression of dissent. While both Cabello and Rodríguez have operated at the core of the state, the ruling socialist party and the legislature for years, they have never been regarded as close allies, and their relationship has often been described as tense.

As interior minister, Cabello wields influence over military and civilian intelligence bodies accused by rights groups of widespread domestic surveillance and intimidation. He has also been closely linked to the colectivos, armed civilian groups that have been deployed to intimidate or attack protesters during past waves of unrest.

That history has made U.S. officials wary. According to one source briefed on Washington’s internal deliberations, Cabello’s reputation for repression and his rivalry with Rodríguez raise concerns that he could undermine efforts to stabilize the country and manage a political transition.

Rodríguez, for her part, has been moving swiftly to consolidate power, placing loyalists in key posts to shield herself from internal challenges while working to meet U.S. demands to increase oil output, according to interviews with sources inside Venezuela.

Elliott Abrams, who served as Trump’s special representative for Venezuela during the president’s first term, said many Venezuelans would see Cabello’s eventual removal as a clear signal of genuine change.

“If and when he goes, Venezuelans will know that the regime has really begun to change,” said Abrams, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Cabello has been under U.S. sanctions for years over allegations of drug trafficking. In 2020, U.S. authorities indicted him as a senior figure in what they described as the “Cartel de los Soles,” a network allegedly involving top Venezuelan officials in narcotics trafficking. Washington initially offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest, later raising the bounty to $25 million. Cabello has repeatedly denied any involvement in drug trafficking.

In the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s removal, questions arose in Washington over why Cabello was left untouched despite being listed second in the Justice Department indictment. Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar publicly criticized the decision, saying Cabello posed an even greater threat than Maduro or Rodríguez.

In public remarks days later, Cabello condemned U.S. intervention, declaring that Venezuela would not surrender. Yet reports of sweeping checkpoint searches and detentions — sometimes carried out by uniformed officers and sometimes by individuals in plain clothes — have declined in recent days.

Both Trump and Venezuelan officials have said that many detainees regarded by opposition groups and human rights organizations as political prisoners will be released. The government has said Cabello, in his capacity as interior minister, is overseeing the process. Rights groups, however, say releases have been slow and that hundreds of people remain unjustly detained, casting doubt on whether the promised easing of repression will materialize.