BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The United States has made secret contact with Venezuela's socialist party boss as close allies of President Nicolás Maduro's inner circle seek guarantees they won’t face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to remove him, according to a senior Trump administration official.
Diosdado Cabello, who is considered the most powerful man in Venezuela after Maduro, met in July in Caracas with someone who is in close contact with the Trump administration, the official told The Associated Press. A second meeting is said to be in the works.
The AP is withholding the intermediary's name and details of the encounter with Cabello out of concern the person could suffer reprisals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she is not authorized to discuss the talks, which are still preliminary. It's not clear whether the talks have Maduro's approval.
Cabello, 56, is a major power broker in Venezuela, who has seen his influence in the government and security forces expand as Maduro's grip on power has weakened. But he's been accused by U.S. officials of being behind massive corruption, drug trafficking and even death threats against a sitting U.S. senator.
The administration official said that under no circumstances is the United States looking to prop up Cabello or pave the way for him to substitute for Maduro. The goal of the outreach is to ratchet up pressure on the regime by contributing to the virtual knife fight the United States believes is taking place behind the scenes among competing circles of power in the ruling party.
Similar contacts exist with other top Venezuelan insiders, the official said, and the United States is in a listening mode to hear what it would take for them to betray Maduro and support a transition plan.
Cabello did not respond to a request for comment.
But an aide said the United States has been increasingly knocking on his door, desperately looking to establish contact. The aide rejected the notion that Cabello was betraying Maduro, saying that Cabello would meet with Americans only with the president's permission and if it contributes to lifting sanctions he blames for crippling the oil-dependent economy. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss political affairs publicly.
A person familiar with the July encounter said Cabello appeared savvy and arrived to the meeting with the U.S.-backed envoy well prepared, with a clear understanding of Venezuela's political problems. This person too spoke on the condition of anonymity.
As Venezuela's crisis grinds on, a predictable pattern has emerged, in which Juan Guaidó, who the United States and other countries recognize as Venezuela's rightful leader, has been unable to woo the military and take power, but Maduro lacks the strength to arrest his rival or rescue the collapsed economy amid ever-tightening U.S. sanctions. This month, the United States slapped on a new round of sanctions that seizes all of the Maduro government's assets in the United States and threatens to punish companies from third countries that continue to do business with him.
Talks sponsored by Norway between the opposition and government have been slow going and were suspended this month by Maduro, who accused Guaidó of celebrating the United States’ "brutal blockade." Neither Cabello, the Venezuelan military or U.S. government are a party to those talks.