The former head of Venezuela’s feared intelligence service Sebin has had sanctions on him lifted by the United States, in a move designed to encourage others to follow his lead and abandon Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Maduro’s government announced shortly afterwards that it was taking control of three private airfields, in a move widely seen as trying to stop others following the general’s lead and fleeing the country.

Nestor Reverol, head of public works, said the Metropolitana air field in Caracas, the airport in the town of Higuerote, and Aeropuerto Caracas, south of the capital, had been taken over “to avoid illicit acts which would compromise the safety of civil aviation.”

Mike Pence, the US vice president, announced on Tuesday that sanctions would be lifted from General Manuel Cristopher Figuera after he resigned on April 30.

“You can’t live in misery in a country this rich,” wrote Mr Figuera, in a letter of resignation that received national attention.