Donald Trump warned Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to flee alongside his wife or face the consequences as the US loads up on warships and troops in the region.
The talks occurred Friday amid a series of lethal American drone strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers in the region that has killed over 80 people.
The United States’ presence in the region has only grown more menacing, with at least 11 warships and 15,000 troops deployed, including a unit capable of a land invasion to stop alleged ‘narco-terrorists.’
The president even assured Maduro of safe passage for himself, his wife and son if he resigned immediately, The Miami Herald reported.
A source familiar with the call said that Maduro asked Trump for global amnesty, which the president rejected, before asking to keep his control of the Venezuelan armed forces in exchange for free elections.
Trump also said no to that idea before Maduro rejected the idea of resigning.
The president confirmed Sunday that the talks had occurred amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called US preparations for an attack.
Trump also backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of US military strikes against the alleged terrorists, citing a published report that Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a September 2 attack.
The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.
‘The order was to kill everybody,’ two people with direct knowledge of the operation told the paper.
Trump had Hegseth’s back, saying: ‘I don’t know anything about it. He said he did not say that.’
When he repeated that Hegseth ‘didn’t do it,’ he was then asked if he’d be okay with it if Hegseth had done it.
‘He said he didn’t do it, so I don’t have to make that decision.’
However, Trump did also say on Sunday the administration ‘will look into’ the matter and added, ‘I wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike.’
Both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill had agreed Sunday that if it was true, Hegseth was in deep trouble.
‘This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,’ said Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia.
‘Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,’ said Ohio Republican Mike Turner.
After the Post’s report, Hegseth said Friday on X that ‘fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.’
‘Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,’ Hegseth wrote.
Meanwhile, the United States is piling the pressure on Venezuela, with a major military buildup in the Caribbean, the designation of an alleged drug cartel run by Maduro as a terrorist group, and an ominous warning from Trump that Venezuelan airspace is ‘closed.’
Washington says the aim of the military deployment launched in September is to curb drug trafficking in the region, but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal.
‘I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,’ Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.
The New York Times reported Friday that Trump and Maduro had discussed a possible meeting, while The Wall Street Journal said Saturday that the conversation also included conditions of amnesty if Maduro were to step down.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said Sunday on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ talk show that the United States has offered Maduro the chance to leave his country for Russia or elsewhere.
Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has followed in his predecessor, Hugo Chávez’s footsteps, by cultivating strong military loyalty by appointing officers to high-ranking government roles.
The US has condemned Maduro’s corrupt rule, citing the president’s election victory in 2024, despite evidence that his opposition won more votes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Maduro an illegitimate president, recently naming the Cartel de Los Soles a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Rubio stated that the Cartel de Los Soles is a group of high-ranking individuals following Maduro who have corrupted the country’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary, including invoking terrorist violence and trafficking drugs.
Tensions have heightened in recent months between Venezuela and the US, as the Trump administration has launched a crusade to take down ‘narco-terrorists’ transporting drugs through international waters.
But Venezuela and countries that support it insist no such organization even exists.
Several Venezuela experts say what Washington calls the Cartel of the Suns refers to the corruption of senior officials by criminal gangs.
The United States also does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of last year’s presidential election.
Though Trump has not publicly threatened to use force against Maduro, he said in recent days that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking ‘by land’ would begin ‘very soon.’
The president has also suggested that operations could escalate to land strikes, telling service members on a reported phone call on Thanksgiving of the military expansion.
‘In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore,’ he said.
Trump added that it was ‘easier’ to intercept potential drug traffickers on land, and that it would be starting ‘very soon’.
‘We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country,’ he added.
In the past week, Navy vessels have been seen sailing increasingly closer to the South American nation.
The new wave of deployments began in August with the arrival of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group. In October, the US announced that the 1106ft USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, would also join the mission.
The carrier reached Caribbean waters on November 11 with more than four thousand sailors, fighter jets and support vessels, including the USS Thomas Hudner, USS Rampage, and USS Normandy.
The Pentagon is calling the presence ‘Operation Southern Spear,’ with over 15,000 troops and 11 US warships estimated in the area.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Maduro has said eight million civilians are training in militias.
However, the military’s equipment is decades old, most of which was purchased from Russia in the early 2000s.
