Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ignored the White House’s ultimatum and did not resign from office. According to the Miami Herald and the New York Times, Maduro and Donald Trump spoke on the phone on November 21 and the Republican offered a deal for the Venezuelan dictator to safely leave the country.
In the call, the US government offered “safe passage” for Maduro, his wife Celia Flores, and their son to leave Venezuela. The family could have fled to any country, but Trump demanded that Maduro resign from office by the end of last week, which was not fulfilled. As a result, the US President announced on Saturday (11/29) the closure of Venezuelan airspace.
A White House source told the Miami Herald that Trump and Maduro were unable to reach an agreement on three central points, which would have led to the collapse of the negotiations.
The Venezuelan reportedly requested “universal amnesty for any crimes committed by him and his group” and the possibility of continuing to control the armed forces during new “free elections” in the country. The United States did not agree to both requests.
The US government asked Maduro to step down from power “immediately” and offered the family the possibility of escape, which Caracas refused.
Trump confirmed to reporters on Sunday (11/30) that he spoke by phone with Maduro, but did not provide further details.
“I don’t want to comment on it, but the answer is yes,” Donald Trump said when asked if the call took place.
The White House did not comment on Trump’s ultimatum to Maduro. However, the US President is meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the highest level of national security, in the early hours of Tuesday (2/12), to discuss the situation in Venezuela.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela worsened after Trump’s announcement
On Saturday (11/29), Trump further raised his rhetoric against Maduro and declared that Venezuela’s airspace was “completely closed.”
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers, please consider the airspace over and around Venezuela completely closed,” the US President wrote in a post on the Truth social network.
The United States does not have the authority to close another country’s airspace. However, an announcement like Trump’s increases speculation about an attack in Venezuela, discouraging airlines from flying over Venezuelan territory.
The Venezuelan government published a letter of disavowal and described Donald Trump’s decision as a “colonial threat.”
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela strongly rejects the public message published today (Saturday) on social media by the President of the United States, in which he attempts to apply the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the United States in Venezuela by attempting, without precedent, to issue orders and threaten the sovereignty of the national airspace, territorial integrity, aviation security, and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state,” the memo said.
On Thursday (11/27), Trump announced that ground attacks in Venezuela may occur in the near future, as part of the American campaign against drug trafficking in the region.
Maduro and figures linked to the high level of the Chavista regime, which is contested by part of the international community, have been the main targets of threats coming from Washington.
In July of this year, the President of Venezuela was appointed head of the Los Soles cartel by the Trump administration, which the United States recently designated as an international terrorist organization. The change also affected other groups, and opened loopholes for US military operations in other countries, under the justification of combating “drug terrorism.”