Julian E. Barnes and Tyler Pager
A covert C.I.A. team conducted sabotage operations in Venezuela to help ensure that a U.S. military strike force could enter the country safely to seize President Nicolás Maduro early this month, according to people briefed on the operation. The work of the secretive operatives was a sign of close cooperation between the spy agency and the U.S. military, officials said. But it also reflected the spy agency’s new focus on Latin America, as well as a renewed emphasis on intelligence collection overseas and on covert operations.
U.S. officials insist a more aggressive stance by the agency — and focus on Latin America — is bearing results. In a closed-door briefing to Congress earlier this month, John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, said that foreign intelligence collection on Latin America had increased roughly 51 percent during his time in office, according to people familiar with the meeting. He also said the number of human sources had increased substantially, rising by 61 percent.
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