The president of the United States, Donald Trump, revealed that the Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro offered "everything" to avoid a military confrontation with Washington, amidst the increasing pressure on the chavista regime.
During a conversation recorded by the presidential channel Rapid Response 47, Trump claimed that Maduro tried to make significant concessions to appease the White House:
"He has offered everything, you're right. Do you know why? Because he doesn't want to mess with the United States," declared the leader, referring to the Venezuelan leader's attempts to avoid a direct confrontation.
According to a report from The New York Times, Maduro allegedly offered to hand over control of the Venezuelan oil and mining industry to American companies, including projects from the state-owned PDVSA and gold extraction in the Orinoco Mining Arc.
In exchange, Caracas expected to reestablish diplomatic relations and avoid military actions by the United States in the region.
Sources cited by the New York newspaper affirm that negotiations were conducted secretly for several months between high-level representatives of the Venezuelan government and the then U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell.
According to those reports, Maduro committed to reducing ties with China, Iran, and Russia as part of the rapprochement.
"Maduro understood that reducing ties with China and Russia was the necessary price to avoid military intervention," said a diplomatic source cited in the article.
However, the offer was rejected by the Trump administration, which cut diplomatic contacts with Caracas after deeming the regime to be “illegitimate and criminal.”
Despite the alleged concessions, the White House dismissed any possibility of an agreement with the Venezuelan leader. Trump and his team consider Maduro a "fugitive from U.S. justice" accused of narco-terrorism and money laundering, in addition to being the leader of the so-called “Cartel of the Suns.”
The Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, has been the main advocate of the maximum pressure policy. Of Cuban descent, Rubio argues that "the fall of Maduro is essential to weaken the regime in Havana" and put an end to the network of authoritarian governments in Latin America.
According to the Times, while Maduro publicly portrayed himself as a strong leader against "imperial threats," his envoys in Europe and the Caribbean were offering full participation agreements for American companies in the production and distribution of oil.
The breaking point, however, was political: the Venezuelan regime refused to discuss a way out of power. “The president will not negotiate his departure,” declared Chancellor Yván Gil, according to local media.
The conversations, which were expected to begin in early 2025, collapsed in mid-year when the United States intensified its anti-drug operations in the Caribbean and authorized attacks against Venezuelan vessels linked to drug smuggling.
Parallely, the opposition leader María Corina Machado —recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize— presented in Washington a democratic transition proposal that promised greater economic benefits to the United States if a change of government occurred in Venezuela.
According to the same source, their economic team estimated that U.S. companies could generate up to $1.7 trillion in investments and profits over 15 years with the return of democracy and the restoration of
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