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The President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed this Sunday that he had a telephone conversation with Nicolás Maduro, amid the highest escalation of tension between Washington and Caracas in years. The revelation occurred aboard Air Force One during an informal exchange with journalists.
When asked directly if he spoke with Maduro, as revealed by The New York Times, Trump replied simply, “The answer is yes.” Afterwards, when asked for details about the conversation, he refrained from labeling it: “I wouldn’t say it was a good or bad call; it was just a call.”
Although he declined to elaborate on the content of the exchange, the president maintained his pressure message against Caracas. When asked why the White House considers the airspace over Venezuela closed, Trump was blunt: “Because we consider Venezuela to be a not very friendly country.”
He claimed, without presenting evidence, that "millions" of Venezuelans have arrived in the United States from "prisons, gangs, and drug trafficking networks," and insisted that many of them "should not be in our country."
The secret call and the atmosphere of high tension
The public confirmation of the contact comes after two investigations by The New York Times and Infobae revealed that Trump and Maduro spoke last weekend.
While the first version indicated that both discussed the possibility of a meeting on U.S. soil, the expanded report from Infobae asserts that the White House strongly denied any intention of a meeting.
According to that outlet, Trump reportedly issued an ultimatum: Maduro and his inner circle must leave Caracas, a demand that would also include Diosdado Cabello, Vladimir Padrino López, and the Rodríguez brothers, Delcy and Jorge.
Hours after the call, Washington designated the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), allowing for the expansion of military and financial operations against the chavista leadership.
“Don't read anything,” but military pressure continues
During the exchange with journalists, Trump urged not to "read too much" into whether there could be an imminent attack against Venezuela. However, his words contrast with the tense atmosphere in the region.
Since September, the United States has carried out dozens of airstrikes against vessels in the Caribbean, and the president himself hinted that operations could soon extend to land targets.
"The ground is easier," he said recently, emphasizing that no option is off the table.
Sources quoted by Reuters also assert that the CIA has intensified covert operations to prepare "political transition options," while the Pentagon maintains a naval blockade off the coast of Venezuela.
Maduro denounces attempt at oil appropriation
Also this Sunday, the Venezuelan government escalated its rhetoric further. According to a letter sent by Maduro to the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the United States is attempting to seize Venezuela's "vast oil reserves" through the "use of lethal military force."
The document, revealed by El País, warns of a risk to global energy stability just as the Caribbean is experiencing an unprecedented increase in U.S. military operations.
Maduro accuses Washington of maintaining a "campaign of harassment" since August that, according to his claims, includes over 14 warships, 15,000 troops, and at least 20 bombings against small vessels, which he asserts has resulted in more than 80 "extrajudicial killings."
In the letter, the ruler asks the OPEC and OPEC+ countries for support to curb what he describes as an aggression that threatens "the balances of the international energy market."
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