The man behind the daring mission: Edwin Lopez, 50 years old, veteran of Homeland Security Investigations and former US Army Ranger. Lopez had spent years busting international drug cartels and was about to retire. Until he decided his career needed one more ultimate stunt.
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Venezuelan aircraft
It all started on April 24, 2024, during Joe Biden’s presidency. A tipster entered the US embassy in the Dominican Republic with information that shook up the security community: details about Nicolás Maduro’s private planes, their flight routes and maintenance schedules.
Lopez sat alone in the otherwise empty embassy. A small card had only a name and a number on it. One phone call later, Lopez knew: two of Maduro’s Dassault jets were at La Isabela Airport for maintenance, and they were loaded with American technology. A direct violation of the sanctions.
Lopez saw it as an excellent opportunity. Why not try to persuade Juan Villegas, Maduro’s regular pilot and colonel in the Venezuelan air force, to fly the dictator to the United States? It was a risky gamble, but the reward, if it worked, could make history.
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Secret recording
With the green light from his managers and in consultation with the Dominican authorities, Lopez got to work: one-on-one conversations with the technicians and pilots in the hangar. Just meters from the gleaming Dassault planes, men were invited to the table. “No agenda,” Lopez allegedly told them. “We just want to talk.”
The US spends $50 million on tips that help arrest Maduro for drug crimes © ANP / Associated Press
The conversation with Juan Villegas started as a routine conversation, but quickly took a different direction. Villegas talked about flights with Maduro, pulled out photos and muttered details about military installations that no layman could have known. Everything slid across the table unhindered.
Then came the stakes. Lopez laid out the proposition: fly Maduro to a place where we can arrest him, make him disappear, and the reward will be great: money, political protection, and the promise of millions of supporters at home.
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Wealth of information
There was a long, threatening silence. No answer, no negotiation. Villegas handed over his cell phone number and headed back to Venezuela, leaving the hangar behind and without the planes.
In the meantime, the United States initiated federal seizure proceedings. The first aircraft was seized in September 2024; the second followed a few months later, in February 2025. At a press conference in Santo Domingo, Lopez stood side by side with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and they unveiled the seized device.
“A wealth of intelligence,” Rubio called the planes, which were filled with names of Air Force officers, technical details and flight plans. In a speech, Maduro responded furiously: “Shameless theft!” he shouted in a later speech, openly labeling Rubio a thief.
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‘Be a hero for Venezuela’
While the US initiated seizure proceedings for the jets, Lopez continued to bombard Villegas with messages. He made twelve attempts via WhatsApp and Telegram, full of subtle hints and promises. No response.
When Lopez retired, he didn’t give up. Backed by Venezuelan opposition leaders and a publicly offered reward of $50 million, he made one last stand: “There is still time to be a hero for Venezuela and be on the right side of history.” It was silent again. No answer.
The secret agent promised the pilot that he would be a hero in Venezuela if he managed to kidnap Nicolás Maduro. © ANP / REX by Shutterstock
On September 18, 2025, Lopez followed a Maduro flight through a plane spotter on X. He messaged again: “Where are you going?” Villegas responded sharply: “Who is this?” Shortly afterwards he called Lopez a coward. “We Venezuelans are cut from a different cloth. We are not traitors.”
Lopez then tried one more time. He sent a photo of their conversation and mentioned Villegas’ children. “Soon it will be too late.” Villegas blocked him. The plan had definitely failed
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Humiliation
When it became clear that Villegas would not cooperate, Lopez and the anti-Maduro movement turned to public humiliation. Three sources familiar with the operation told the Associated Press how former security official Marshall Billingslea systematically pressured Maduro and Villegas via social media.
On Villegas’ 48th birthday, Billingslea missed no opportunity to provoke. On X he wrote mockingly: “Feliz cumpleaños ‘General’ Bitner!” The post included two photos: one of the secret conversation with Lopez, the other an official Air Force photo in which Villegas showed off his gold star.
The timing was anything but coincidental. Just a minute later, Maduro’s US-sanctioned Airbus took off. Twenty minutes later the plane landed again, exactly as planned.
The birthday wish went viral. Nearly three million people saw the message and it caused an immediate shock wave. Opponents speculated that Villegas had been forcibly returned for questioning.
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It was not until September 24 that Villegas appeared in public again, neatly dressed in an air force uniform, next to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The minister laughed off the rumors, praising Villegas as an “infallible, tough patriot,” while the pilot silently clenched his fist. The CIA’s revenge plan also collapsed.