CIA BOMBSHELL: Intelligence Sources Alleged Chávez Regime Plotted to Rig Elections Using Smartmatic Technology

A newly declassified CIA report reveals that Venezuelan officials likely possessed the means to manipulate electronic elections using Smartmatic technology. Intelligence sources alleged that Hugo Chávez’s government coordinated with election authorities and Smartmatic before Venezuela’s 2012 election, deploying altered machines to secure victory by roughly 1.5 million votes—nearly matching Chávez’s official margin. Although the CIA ultimately concluded that large-scale fraud was unproven, its own “devil’s advocate” analysis found that such manipulation could have occurred undetected. The report also cites alleged ties between Smartmatic directors and Venezuelan intelligence, as well as Chávez’s stated desire to influence U.S. politics—details that cast new light on election-security concerns previously dismissed as conspiracy theories.

CIA Report: Venezuela ‘Could Have’ Used Voting Machines To Rig Elections

By: Brianna Lyman, The