President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday he spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by telephone last month, delivering what sources described as a blunt ultimatum demanding immediate resignation in exchange for safe passage out of Venezuela. The conversation collapsed after Maduro sought concessions the United States rejected, escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would not characterize whether the call went well or poorly, saying only that it was a phone call. The New York Times reported the conversation took place days before the State Department designated the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, with Maduro identified as the group’s leader.
According to the Miami Herald, Washington offered guaranteed safe passage for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son if the Venezuelan leader agreed to depart immediately. The proposal extended only to these three individuals, requiring Maduro to resign on the spot to allow what the administration termed restoration of democratic rule.
The negotiations reached an impasse over three central issues. Sources familiar with the exchange told the Miami Herald that Maduro first requested global amnesty for any crimes he and his inner circle had committed, which American officials rejected outright. Second, the Venezuelan government proposed retaining control of the armed forces while permitting free elections, a model one source compared to Nicaragua’s 1991 arrangement under Violeta Chamorro. Washington dismissed this proposal as well. The final breakdown came over timing, with the United States demanding immediate departure while Caracas refused those conditions.
Brazil, Qatar and Turkey reportedly helped broker the telephone conversation. After the talks failed, Maduro’s government attempted to arrange another call with Washington but received no response. A defense expert familiar with Venezuela’s military and state linked cartel networks warned that Maduro and key regime figures could now be facing their most serious threat.
Following the breakdown, Trump sharply escalated pressure on Venezuela. He declared Saturday on his Truth Social platform that airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed in its entirety, though he provided no additional details about what the declaration meant in practical terms. When asked why the airspace should be considered closed, Trump stated that the United States considers Venezuela to be not a very friendly country.
FlightRadar24 data showed international aircraft avoiding Venezuelan airspace following Trump’s announcement. Flights to Caribbean islands Aruba and Curaçao took longer alternative routes, and at least six major airlines suspended services after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued warnings about heightened military activity in the region. Venezuela’s government retaliated by revoking operating rights for several foreign carriers and accused Washington of colonial aggression and threats to territorial integrity.
Trump told military service members last week that United States land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin very soon. The administration has conducted more than 80 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing at least 83 people according to Venezuelan officials. Human rights organizations have condemned the operations as illegal extrajudicial killings of civilians, while some American allies have expressed concerns about possible violations of international law.
Maduro made his first public appearance in days on Sunday at an annual specialty coffee awards event in eastern Caracas, ending speculation within Venezuela that he had fled amid escalating tensions. The Venezuelan president, who typically appears on state television multiple times weekly, had not been seen publicly since Wednesday when he posted a video of himself driving around Caracas on his Telegram channel. During Sunday’s event, he sat before a crowd handing out medals to coffee producers while sampling various coffees, but made no remarks addressing the current crisis.
Jorge Rodríguez, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly, declined to discuss the Trump Maduro conversation on Sunday, saying it was not the purpose of his press conference, which instead focused on announcing an inquiry into recent United States maritime strikes. Rodríguez stated that absent a declared war between the two nations, the boat strikes can only be characterized as murder or extrajudicial executions.
Maduro sent a letter to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais dated November 30, accusing the United States of making constant and repeated express threats toward Venezuela in a move that seriously endangers the stability of Venezuelan oil production and the international market. Venezuela possesses what are believed to be among the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
The Trump administration does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election. The State Department announced November 24 that it would designate the Cartel de los Soles, which officials claim is led by Maduro and senior regime members, as a foreign terrorist organization. Several Venezuela experts have said that what Washington calls the Cartel de los Soles refers to corruption of senior officials by criminal gangs operating within the military and government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was reportedly included on the Trump Maduro phone call. The Times reported that the leaders also discussed the possibility of an in person meeting between Trump and Maduro in the United States, though no plans have been finalized. Maduro had previously offered Washington a significant stake in Venezuelan oil fields to reduce tensions, but American officials ended those discussions in early November.
The United States military buildup in the Caribbean has included deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s most advanced and largest aircraft carrier, to regional waters. American fighter jets and strategic bombers have conducted repeated flights off Venezuela’s coast in recent days. Despite the military posturing, Trump clarified Sunday that his airspace warning should not be interpreted as signaling imminent bombing campaigns.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro told CNN in an exclusive interview that Trump’s interests in Venezuela center on oil rather than drug trafficking, a claim the State Department rejected. A spokesperson said the administration remains firm in its counter drug operations in the Caribbean and its commitment to protecting Americans from what it termed the Maduro regime’s deadly poison.
Republican Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania stated on Fox News Sunday that narcotics flowing through Venezuela killed 100,000 Americans last year, representing twice the number of people who died in eight years of the Vietnam War. The senator emphasized that 4,000 Pennsylvanians died from drug overdoses, attributing the crisis partly to Venezuelan sources of fentanyl, opioids and cocaine.
Questions have emerged about one September maritime strike in which media reports indicated the United States military conducted a follow up attack that killed survivors of an initial strike. The Washington Post and CNN reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had issued a directive to eliminate all targets, though Trump said Sunday that Hegseth denied giving such an order. The president stated he would investigate but emphasized he would not have wanted a second strike targeting survivors.
The failed negotiations represent what some analysts describe as the highest point of tension between Washington and Caracas in two decades. The margin for diplomatic resolution now depends on whether either side shows willingness to compromise on core demands. Maduro faces mounting pressure from American military deployments, economic sanctions, and the terrorist organization designation of his alleged drug trafficking network, while Trump confronts criticism about the legality of boat strikes and concerns about potential violations of international law.
