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Inside Nicolás Maduro’s Last Days as Venezuela’s Leader
| USA | general | ✓ Verified - nytimes.com

Inside Nicolás Maduro’s Last Days as Venezuela’s Leader

#Nicolás Maduro #Venezuela #U.S. forces #President Trump #Betrayal #Security detail #American infiltration #Capture

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Maduro overestimated his strength and misread Trump's intentions
  • He feared betrayal from within his own government
  • Maduro warned friends about potential American spies
  • His confidence in security detail clashed with growing paranoia
  • U.S. forces ultimately captured him

📖 Full Retelling

Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan president, faced his final days in power during late December 2024 as growing concerns about American infiltration and potential betrayal consumed him, ultimately leading to his capture by U.S. forces after he overestimated his strength and misread his exchange with President Trump. Despite maintaining outward confidence in the loyalty of his security detail and inner circle, Maduro's paranoia intensified as he became increasingly convinced that U.S. intelligence agencies were successfully infiltrating Venezuelan government and military institutions. In a revealing phone conversation with a close friend at the end of December, the Venezuelan leader expressed his fears of imminent betrayal and specifically instructed his confidant not to answer calls or messages from unknown numbers, warning that spies were actively working against him. This period marked a dramatic turn in Maduro's presidency, as his previous assumptions about his position of strength and international relationships proved disastrously incorrect, culminating in the unprecedented operation by U.S. forces that ended his tenure as Venezuela's leader.

🏷️ Themes

Political leadership, National security, U.S.-Venezuela relations, Power dynamics

📚 Related People & Topics

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Betrayal

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Breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence

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Venezuela

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump

President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)

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Original Source
The Venezuelan president remained confident in the loyalty of his security detail and inner circle, but he grew increasingly worried about American efforts to infiltrate the government and the military. One close friend recalled that Mr. Maduro called him in late December to say he feared betrayal and asked the friend not to answer calls or messages from unknown numbers because spies were working against him.
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Source

nytimes.com

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