Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has retracted an intelligence report on the Trump administration’s contacts with the Venezuelan government, according to The New York Times. The memo detailed discussions by special envoy Richard Grenell with officials tied to President Nicolás Maduro.
The report described Grenell’s efforts to negotiate a deal that would have expanded Chevron’s oil operations in Venezuela in exchange for the release of hostages. Such an agreement could have strengthened revenue for Maduro’s government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly opposed the approach, favoring a more confrontational strategy.
The National Security Agency, which compiled the report, issued a recall notice at Gabbard’s direction. Officials said the move was standard to protect the identities of Americans mentioned in intelligence records. “Making administrative edits to existing reports is an extremely common practice,” a senior NSA official said, calling descriptions of the action as a “retraction” misleading.
Gabbard’s office stressed the decision was about civil liberties protections, not the substance of the intelligence. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The move comes as U.S. military assets expand their presence in the Caribbean, a deployment Maduro denounced as a hostile act.
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