Epstein-linked communications from 2013 to 2019 that mention Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro are circulating online, with some users claiming they hint at a covert US operation to retrieve a CIA-linked asset.
The earliest reference appears in a January 3, 2013 email exchange in which Jeffrey Epstein asked associate Francisco D’Agostino about conditions in Venezuela as President Hugo Chávez’s health deteriorated. D’Agostino replied that Chávez was in “very delicate condition,” adding that the pro-Chávez camp was positioned to handle the transition and stay in power.
The email listed “top guys: Maduro, Cabello and Ramirez,” adding that the “mood in general is optimistic.”
A later reference appears in an email dated August 18, 2018, in which “Jeffrey E.” wrote to Steve Bannon: “in the mean time. there is apple in the us and maduro in venezuela.” The same email also includes a line: “Only listen to Jews. Ignore everybody else.”
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Another excerpt dated January 24, 2019 comes from an iMessage transcript that reads: “Your boy bolsonaro and maduro will give him a reason to be a tough guy.”
The references are now being used by some commentators to argue that Maduro and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro were tied to US intelligence and that US actions involving Maduro were aimed at extracting an American asset.
The DOJ is treating the Epstein material as an active, rolling transparency release: an initial, heavily redacted batch went public in late December 2025, followed by a much larger dump in late January 2026 that DOJ framed as meeting the disclosure mandate, while warning that the sheer volume means sensitive or identifying content could still appear despite redactions.
Separately, DOJ said it will allow members of Congress to review unredacted versions on DOJ computers under strict access rules, including limits on copying, as lawmakers continue pressing for fuller visibility into what was withheld or redacted.
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