Former CIA Operative Opens Office in Caracas to Advise U.S. Businesses, Says Venezuela Opportunity Is 'Real'

A former CIA operative who once led the agency's Caracas station is now opening a lobbying and strategic advisory office in the Venezuelan capital, underscoring renewed interest among some American business and political circles in the country's energy sector.

Rick de la Torre, founder of Washington-based lobbying and advisory firm Tower Strategy, announced Tuesday that the company had opened an office in Caracas under the leadership of Venezuelan businessman Gonzalo Fernández-Tinoco.

"Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves and is in the early stages of an economic reopening," de la Torre wrote in a post on X announcing the move. He said the firm aims to help U.S. businesses and investors navigate opportunities in the country by combining "Venezuelan business leadership, former U.S. diplomatic leadership through Ambassador James Story, and intelligence experience from my years as CIA Station Chief in Caracas."

POLITICO first reported the opening, noting that Tower Strategy has increasingly focused on Venezuela-related business opportunities. The firm also employs James Story, the former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela appointed during Donald Trump's first administration. Fernández-Tinoco has served on the boards of Venezuelan energy and telecommunications companies.

In his public remarks Tuesday, de la Torre also praised President Donald Trump's energy policies, writing that Tower Strategy's ability "to direct Venezuela toward the U.S." was possible because of Trump and his "energy dominance" agenda.

The announcement comes months after de la Torre gave a series of interviews defending U.S. policy toward Venezuela and discussing Washington's evolving relationship with the government that emerged after Nicolás Maduro's removal from power earlier this year.

In a February interview with Turkiye Today, de la Torre described Maduro's capture as "a military-led special operations capture mission enabled by intelligence," arguing that the operation was "deliberately overt in effect, even if tactically discreet in execution."

He also said Venezuela had become "a permissive environment for external actors with overlapping but distinct interests," referring to the roles of China, Russia, Iran and Cuba in the country.

Separately, in an interview with the Spanish outlet El Español in January, de la Torre defended Washington's decision to temporarily work with Delcy Rodríguez after Maduro's capture, arguing that U.S. officials needed to ensure basic state functions continued operating during a transition period.

"The Trump administration had no choice but to work with Delcy Rodríguez as a temporary measure to ensure the country kept functioning," he said.

Before founding Tower Strategy in 2025, de la Torre spent more than two decades working in intelligence and national security roles for the U.S. government, including serving as CIA chief of station in Caracas. His firm now advises clients on federal policy, geopolitical risk and government relations, particularly in Latin America and the energy sector.