On December 10, this site revealed the visit of Roger Carsten to Caracas:
@StateSPEHA from @StateDept flew to Caracas aboard the “ebola plane” #N173PA to negotiate the release of some political prisoners from @NicolasMaduro.
This marks the first visit by a U.S. government official on an official matter since Story’s departure #talkingtoMaduro.
— Alek Boyd «Plagiarism is theft» (@infodi0) December 10, 2021
A source reported that Carsten would meet with Nicolás Maduro to negotiate the freedom of some/all Americans currently imprisoned in Venezuela (Citgo 6 and those involved in the Gideon farce by Jordan Goudreau/Juan Guaidó).
Carsten spent a few days in Caracas but left empty-handed. Maduro, however, confirmed a meeting with Carsten and used it to attack Jimmy Story and the CIA.
It was not Story who leaked the information. Venezuelan plane spotter @Arr3ch0 revealed the arrival of the “ebola plane” N173PA on December 7. And it was not the CIA that “came for a visit,” but Carsten, marking the first visit by a senior State Department official.
Maduro must have heard the story that Story continues to support the “interim presidency” of Juan Guaidó, still advocates for Guaidó with his superiors, and would very much like to maintain the sanctions regime to force some type of negotiation.
Rumors suggest Maduro laughed at Carsten’s offer of “where would you like to go, who would you like to take with you…”. While Carsten’s trip to Caracas represents a significant departure from the previous microphone diplomacy stance, the policy must be reconfigured around the reality that Maduro is not in a weak position; he does not have to comply with the dictates of the State or Treasury, does not need to give an inch, and his grip is, in fact, stronger than ever due to the U.S. government’s policies under the Trump administration.