Trump Ends Diplomatic Effort With Venezuela

It’s being reported that President Trump has ended all diplomatic efforts with Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, and that the military is drawing up plans for escalation in their war on Maduro’s drug cartels.
Here’s more:
President Trump has called off efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, according to U.S. officials, paving the way for a potential military escalation against drug traffickers or the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy and executive director of the Kennedy Center, had been leading negotiations with Mr. Maduro and other top Venezuelan officials. But during a meeting with senior military leaders on Thursday, Mr. Trump called Mr. Grenell and instructed him that all diplomatic outreach, including his talks with Mr. Maduro, was to stop, the officials said on Monday.
Mr. Trump has grown frustrated with Mr. Maduro’s failure to accede to American demands to give up power voluntarily and the continued insistence by Venezuelan officials that they have no part in drug trafficking.
American officials have said that the Trump administration has drawn up multiple military plans for an escalation. Those operations could also include plans designed to force Mr. Maduro from power. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, has called Mr. Maduro an “illegitimate” leader and repeatedly cited a U.S. indictment of him on drug trafficking charges.
Mr. Rubio had described Mr. Maduro as a “fugitive from American justice,” and the United States increased the reward for Mr. Maduro to $50 million.
A White House official said Mr. Trump was prepared to use “every element of American power” to stop drugs from entering the United States and had been clear in his messages to Mr. Maduro to end Venezuelan narcotics trafficking.
Mr. Grenell declined to comment, as did a senior Venezuelan official.