Blackwater founder Erik Prince held secret talks with top Venezuelan official -sources

Erik Prince, the controversial private security executive and prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, made a secret visit to Venezuela last month and met Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, one of socialist leader Nicolas Maduro's closest and most outspoken allies, according to five sources familiar with the matter.

The visit, described by one source as "outreach" by Prince to Maduro's government, came just eight months after the founder of the private security firm Blackwater floated a plan to deploy a private army to help the Venezuelan opposition topple Maduro. It was unclear what Prince, the brother of Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, discussed with Rodriguez. The meeting was first reported by Bloomberg.