At the heart of the struggle for power in Venezuela is SEBIN, the country’s premier security service. In late April, the United States hoped the defection of SEBIN director general Manuel Christopher Figuera would set up a popular uprising to oust embattled president Nicholas Maduro. That didn’t happen. SEBIN’s role, for better or worse, remains...
Category: CIA
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RIP: Bernardo De Torres, Bay of Pigs Veteran and CIA-Linked Drug Trafficker
Trained by the CIA and then cut loose, Bernardo De Torres exemplified what is known as the “disposal problem” in secret intelligence work: What do you do with the people who have been trained for covert action and violent “regime change” operations after U.S. policy fails or changes? How do you dispose of them? De...
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U.S. De-Sanctions Renegade Venezuelan Spy Chief; Maduro Says He Worked for CIA
The U.S. government imposes economic sanctions is to punish perceived enemies of the United States. Washington also removes those sanctions to lure those enemies to embrace the United States. Case in point: Manuel Christopher Figuera, former director general of the Venezuelan intelligence service, known as SEBIN. According to the Washington Post, Figuera played a central...
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Watergate Burglar Sought Information on a Left Wing Mole Who Didn’t Exist
James McCord, the Watergate burglar who died two years ago, told his family he had a political motive for participating in the botched break-in that lead to the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. McCord claimed he sought to gather intelligence on an alleged antiwar militant working in the headquarters of the Democratic National...
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Did the CIA Orchestrate an Attack on the North Korean Embassy in Spain?
Tim Shorrock adds new details to the ever more interesting story of Adrian Hong , the former Ted Talk host and alleged ringleader of the Feb. 22 invasion of the North Korean embassy in Spain. Shorrock focuses on Lee Wolosky, Hong’s lawyer. He’s a former national security adviser to Presidents Bush and Obama and leader...