CARACAS. U.S. officials have widened an air, land and maritime search in Venezuela for a dog described in internal briefings as Nicolás Maduro’s missing pet, after the animal failed to appear following the January 3 U.S. operation that captured Maduro and transported him to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Authorities involved in the effort said the dog is considered a “material witness with specialized capabilities” because it was allegedly trained to identify the locations of oil sites not reflected in standard maps, including dormant or concealed wells that could become relevant as Washington explores an economic opening with Venezuela’s interim government.
The search has drawn in multiple U.S. agencies, including the CIA and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to two officials familiar with the coordination. The involvement comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Caracas this week for talks with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the highest-level U.S. visit since Maduro’s removal.
A U.S. official said the dog’s value lies less in what it can “say” than in what it can “take people to.”
“Some assets don’t debrief in a room,” the official said. “They debrief by walking.”
Venezuelan security personnel briefed on the hunt said they have received U.S. requests to inspect rural compounds, abandoned service roads, and what one memo called “likely canine-friendly concealment zones,” including bunkers and storage areas that could support extended isolation if the animal anticipated capture.
In an unusual parallel track, a second team has been tasked with canine-level engagement. One U.S. official confirmed that a dog described as “a companion animal associated with President Donald Trump” has been deployed alongside U.S. working dogs as part of a strategy to “establish peer-level contact” if the target is located.
The official said the plan is to avoid escalation and to prevent the dog from “reasserting command presence” over local animals that might otherwise assist its movement.
“This is about persuasion and containment,” the official said. “Not force.”
Local residents in neighborhoods near reported search areas said the operation has already changed daily routines. Some dog owners said they have been asked to keep pets indoors during certain hours to reduce “uncontrolled information sharing” at street corners and along fences.
“One officer told me not to let my dog do any freelancing,” said a man in eastern Caracas who said he was approached by security personnel. “I asked what that meant. He said: ‘No unapproved sniffing.’”
Energy analysts say the broader U.S. interest in Venezuela’s oil sector is real, though major companies have cautioned that reviving production would be complex and slow. U.S. officials involved in the search described the missing dog as a potential shortcut—an asset able to identify sites without waiting for paperwork, political access, or new surveys.
By Friday, officials said, there was still no confirmed sighting of the animal. Search teams have not ruled out that it is being sheltered for its perceived value, or that it has placed itself in an environment designed for long-term discretion.
One U.S. handler familiar with the operation offered a simpler explanation: “A dog that knows where the oil is usually knows where the doors are, too.”
For now, the country’s most contested resource is being pursued by an international coalition using leashes, maps, and the assumption that the dog will eventually choose a route that makes sense to a dog.
