Are Donald Trump and Nicolas Maduro talking? This perspective is on the table, despite the extreme tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The Republican informed his team of his plans to speak directly with the Venezuelan, according to the news site Axios, on the same day that Washington officially designated Chavista as the leader of a foreign terrorist organization and tensions in the Caribbean reached their highest levels.
So far, there is no firm end to the conversation, as long as it continues.
Trump’s idea could indicate that despite the concentration of military power that the United States has amassed in the Caribbean, the possibility of direct American action in Venezuelan territory is not currently expected, or in any case may be delayed, as has been feared since the first warships began arriving in the region.
“Nadi is planning to go and shoot (Maduro) or kidnap him – for now. You can never decide, but that is not in your plans now,” an anonymous high-ranking official told the media. “In the meantime, we will continue to grow drugs. We will stop drug trafficking.” The US operation known as Lanza del Sur has attacked at least 21 ships since last September 2, killing at least 83 people on board, in bombings that experts, lawmakers and human rights advocates consider extrajudicial and unlawful executions.
The information published coincides with the entry into force this month of the designation as a foreign terrorist organization of the so-called Cartel de los Soles, a term that includes corrupt Venezuelan officials and military personnel who benefit from connections and income from drug trafficking. The inclusion of the group that, according to Washington, is led by Maduro himself in the Trump administration, in the opinion of his senior officials, in this list, serves as an argument for a new phase of military actions in or around Venezuelan territory.
Also this month, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, the state’s mayor, Gen. Dan Cain, traveled to Puerto Rico to meet with soldiers and officers from Mando Sur, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in Latin America. It is believed that this island contains a majority of about 15,000 soldiers mobilized for Operation Lanza del Sur.
Without ruling out the possibility of starting a second phase in this process, Trump also indicated the possibility of negotiations with Venezuela that would allow the problem to be resolved through diplomatic channels.
Eight days ago, we coincided with arrival at the aircraft carrier area gerald ford, The mayor of the world, the American president, had announced: “It is possible that we will talk, and we will have talks with Maduro. We will see how things turn out. They like to talk.” Trump, who was speaking at these moments with the press at West Palm Beach Airport (Florida), was about to board air force one, I don’t say more details then.
Last week for the newspaper New York Times She published that Trump allowed the CIA to conduct secret operations inside Venezuela. But at the same time, it was possible to reopen a channel of communication that had been closed for a long time between the two countries. Through this channel, Maduro was able to advance his career within two years. However, this delay was rejected by the United States, according to the newspaper.
Axios quoted one of Trump’s advisors as saying: “I see a diplomatic solution as very likely.” “Donald Trump didn’t say it directly, but I want his presidential legacy to mean that he’s doing everything he can to stop the flow of illegal drugs in this country,” he adds.
In the first months of Trump’s term in office, Casablanca’s envoy to Venezuela, Richard Grenell, took some steps in this direction. The diplomat made contact with the Chavista regime and left to travel to Caracas for talks that led to the release of six Americans detained in the South American country and the Maduro government accepting return flights for citizens deported by the United States.