Author: La Tabla/Plataforma de Periodismo de Datos 02 NOV 2025
According to journalist and historian Tim Weiner, an expert in intelligence services, the CIA faces unprecedented risks in its operations against the Nicolás Maduro government, amid what could be seen as a political trap set by President Donald Trump himself.
Weiner argues that Trump first tarnished and politicized the agency, only to later expose it as the clandestine operator of conspiratorial actions in Venezuela. This move creates a dangerous scenario: by being publicly identified as responsible for any covert operation, every U.S. intelligence agent could be considered an illegitimate operator by the Venezuelan government, subjecting them to exceptional legal processes and lacking guarantees if captured.
The analyst identifies three key risks that exacerbate the situation:
1. Lack of Secrecy: By publicly acknowledging operations, Trump stripped the CIA of its primary advantage: concealment. This publicity not only alerts the target but also exposes agents on the ground.
2. Politicized Intelligence: Weiner points out the firing of a high-ranking intelligence official due to a report that contradicted the official line as a “recipe for disaster.” This forces the agency to act on analyses skewed by political interests, increasing the likelihood of failures.
3. Lessons from the Past: The CIA’s history in Latin America, with failures such as the attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro or the so-called “success” in Guatemala that unleashed decades of conflict, serves as a warning about the unpredictable and often catastrophic outcomes of regime changes driven from the outside.
The combination of these factors places the CIA in an unsustainable position in Venezuela: acting under public orders, potentially manipulated intelligence, and the shadow of past interventions that demonstrate how much can go wrong.
#CIA #Venezuela #TimWeiner #CovertOperations