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New revelations from Reuters and the Miami Herald confirm that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro requested full amnesty for himself and his family, as well as the lifting of international sanctions, in exchange for stepping down and allowing a transition led by his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The telephone conversation, held on November 21 and lasting less than 15 minutes, was the first direct contact between Maduro and Donald Trump since the Republican's return to the White House.
According to the cited sources, the Venezuelan leader proposed an agreement that included three main conditions:
- Judicial immunity guarantees for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and their children.
- Cancellation of the proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
- Lifting of sanctions against more than a hundred high-ranking Chavista officials, including those accused in the United States of drug trafficking and corruption.
As part of the plan, Maduro requested that Delcy Rodríguez assume an "interim government," responsible for organizing elections with international supervision. Under this arrangement, Chavismo would maintain control of the state and military apparatus during the transition period.
Sources consulted by Reuters assert that Trump rejected nearly all the conditions. The only proposal that Washington agreed to consider was a limited safe conduct for Maduro to leave Venezuela with his family within a 72-hour timeframe.
That deadline expired on Friday, November 29, without a response from Caracas. The following day, Trump ordered the complete closure of Venezuelan airspace, interpreted by analysts as the end of the diplomatic ultimatum.
A failed negotiation under military pressure
The call occurred in a context of increasing international pressure. Days earlier, the State Department had designated the Cartel of the Suns—an organization allegedly linked to the Venezuelan regime—as a foreign terrorist organization, which expands the Pentagon's capabilities to act militarily without requiring authorization from Congress.
Since September, the United States has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear submarine, destroyers, and F-35 fighters in the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Lance. In this context, U.S. forces have destroyed over 20 vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking, resulting in more than 80 fatalities.
According to the Miami Herald, the goal of the call was to avoid a direct confrontation by offering Maduro a negotiated exit. However, the U.S. demand for an immediate resignation and the transfer of power to an opposing civil authority shattered the dialogue.
The response from Caracas and Washington's calculations
After the breakup, sources cited by Reuters report that the regime attempted to reopen communication channels, but the White House did not respond. A U.S. official told the outlet that a negotiated exit "is not ruled out," although it would require significant changes in Caracas's position.
In a television appearance this Monday, Maduro denied having requested amnesty and accused the United States of seeking a "regime change to seize Venezuela's natural resources."
Meanwhile, Trump called a National Security Council meeting at the White House to assess "new pressure measures" on Caracas, amid reports of U.S. military flight activity over the Caribbean.
The revelations mark the most delicate moment of the hemispheric crisis since the announcement of the air closure. With Argentina demanding the international arrest of Maduro and Cabello before the ICC, and Cuba denouncing “an imperialist aggression,” the region is on the brink of an unprecedented diplomatic reconfiguration, where the survival of chavismo hangs by a thin line between negotiation and collapse.
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