US President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he spoke by phone with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro just over a week ago, amid increasing US political and military pressure on the regime. The Republican did not want to reveal what took place in the conversation, but the American press indicates that an ultimatum was put on the table.
—I don’t want to comment on that; The answer is yes – Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Washington. – I wouldn’t say it was good or bad. It was a phone call.
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The conversation, which took place the week before last, was revealed by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on Friday, and the White House has not yet confirmed it. In recent weeks, Trump has said he is willing to talk to Maduro, as has the Venezuelan, who has made appeals to the international community against what he sees as a form of harassment by the Americans – and Caracas on Sunday asked for help from OPEC countries, the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries, in a gesture more symbolic than practical.
According to the Miami Herald, citing sources who participated in the call, Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum to resign, offering him, First Lady Celia Flores and the president’s son free passage to leave Venezuela. But sources say he rejected the idea and presented a counter-proposal. Other reports over the weekend indicate that an in-person meeting was broadcast, possibly in the USA.
“First, Maduro requested a global amnesty for any crimes committed by him and his group, and this request was rejected,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Miami Herald. Secondly, they demanded maintaining control over the armed forces, similar to what happened in Nicaragua in 1991 with Violeta Chamorro. In return, they will allow free elections.
On Saturday, the post said that after Trump stated that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “completely closed,” Maduro’s representatives tried to make a new phone call, but this time to no avail.
The White House and Venezuelan government did not comment.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullen, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that the Americans had offered Maduro to seek asylum in Russia “or in another country,” without revealing the Venezuelan president’s response. In the same interview, Mullen gave a questionable answer when asked if Trump had plans to attack Venezuela.
– No, he made it very clear that we will not send troops to Venezuela. What we are trying to do is to protect our backs – said the senator.
- Trump critic: Petro questions Trump’s authority to close Venezuelan airspace
Under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, Trump has increased the US military presence in the Caribbean, where there are now 15,000 soldiers and ships such as the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the US Navy, as well as aircraft with combat capabilities. At sea, 21 boats identified as belonging to drug gangs were destroyed, killing 83 people in the Caribbean and Pacific region – so far, no evidence has been provided that the vessels were linked to criminal organisations.
The president also indicates that he may carry out attacks against targets on the ground. Last week, he told military personnel that this could happen “very soon,” a suspicion that was reinforced by the announcement that everyone should consider Venezuelan airspace a closed area to flights. Trump has no formal authority to close another country’s airspace, and flight tracking data shows that although the number of civilian aircraft has been severely reduced, they are still flying in the country. Maduro and his allies claim that the goal of the military buildup, as part of the so-called Operation Southern Spear, is to overthrow his regime.
In return, Maduro has raised the state of preparedness of his armed forces, holding more frequent exercises – one of which took place this weekend – inviting civilians to join paramilitary forces and training residents in the use of firearms. In a statement read by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez at the OPEC meeting, Maduro stated that he would reject “any kind of blackmail or threat,” and that Venezuela “will remain free and sovereign.”