President Trump gave Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro a strongly worded ultimatum as tensions flared with the South American nation — telling him to resign and leave or else, according to a bombshell report.
During a call between Trump and Maduro, the socialist president demanded that he be allowed to maintain control of Venezuela’s military if he paved the way for free elections there, said the Miami Herald, citing sources. Maduro also reportedly sought global amnesty for all of his alleged crimes.
Trump’s refusal on both counts was said to be swift as he followed up with an offer that Maduro may not be able to refuse: Leave now or else.
After the phone call between Trump and Maduro failed to reach a detente, the US president announced he was closing the airspace around the South American country, as America’s largest warship, the USS Gerald F. Ford — and a Marine expeditionary unit, capable of amphibious invasion — float offshore.
Trump also warned over the weekend that military operations inside Venezuela could begin “very soon.”
The tense phone call between Trump and Maduro reportedly took place late in the week of Nov. 16, according to the New York Times, just days after Trump said he was open to talking with the dictator.
The call reportedly saw Trump’s and Maduro’s teams go over the details of what a surrender from the Venezuelan strongman would be like, given that the State Department has a bounty of $50 million on his head.
Trump informed Maduro during their chat that Maduro, his wife and son would be allowed to leave Venezuela safely, but they must do it immediately, sources said.
“First, Maduro asked for global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected,” a source familiar with the call told the Herald.
“Second, they asked to retain control of the armed forces — similar to what happened in Nicaragua in ’91 with Violeta Chamorro. In return, they would allow free elections,” the source said.
That proposal was also rejected, while the demand that Maduro resign immediately was made.
The offer of amnesty was also extended to Maduro’s top allies, the Herald noted.
After the breakdown, Trump ramped up pressure on Venezuela and warned that the US would target drug-trafficking networks “by land” soon.
By Saturday, he made an announcement on social media that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety,” stoking fears of a looming war in the South American country of 28 million people.
It remains unclear how Trump intends to enforce the no-fly decree, as the US has no authority over Venezuelan airspace.
But by Sunday afternoon, a FlightRadar24 map showed that there were no international planes flying over Venezuela.
Flights to Aruba and Curacao — near the Venezuelan coast — appeared to be taking the long way around to avoid Venezuela.
The moves come after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety warning about “heightened military activity in and around Venezuela,” causing several major airlines to suspend their flights there.
Venezuela retaliated by revoking operating rights to Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam, Colombia, Turkish Airlines, and GOL, further isolating the Latin American country.
Maduro and his allies condemned the developments as a form of American “colonial” aggression, accusing the Trump administration of trying to use military force to seize the country’s vast oil reserves.
McCormick defended Trump’s moves as the proper step to take against the narco-terrorists operating in Venezuela.
“When President Trump was running, he and I both campaigned on the same thing, which was [to] secure the border, designate the cartels as narco-terrorists, and use our military in a strategic-focused way to destroy this cartel infrastructure,” McCormick said.
“I think that’s what’s happening with Venezuela.”
The secretary of the Navy also framed the fight against Venezuelan drug traffickers as a war.
Despite the escalating military situation in the Caribbean, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) stressed that Trump has been clear that he won’t put boots on the ground in the troubled Latin American country.
“No, he’s made it very clear we’re not going to put troops into Venezuela. What we’re trying to do is protect our own shores,” Mullin told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
The US has been conducting a sea-focused campaign since September, striking alleged drug boats originating from Venezuela and other Latin American nations.
The administration has since carried out at least 21 fatal strikes on small boats.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (second from left) walks with the first lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores, and Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino (second from right), before a meeting with the high military command in Caracas
11 US Warships And 15,000 American Troops Now In Caribbean
More than 10 US warships, including the country’s largest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, are bearing down on the Caribbean amid escalating tensions between President Trump and Venezuela.
A Marine Expeditionary Unit capable of an amphibious land invasion has also been deployed as part of efforts to stem the flow of drugs into the US from the socialist country.
“The military’s job is to defend the homeland,” Secretary of the Navy John Phelan told Fox News on Saturday night. “That’s exactly what we’re doing, and we’re using our best assets to defend the homeland.
“Drugs kill more Americans than we’ve ever lost in wars,” he said. “So I think at the end of the day, the president has correctly identified this as an attack on the country, which it is.”
Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, is being blamed for allowing narco vessels to set off from his country for the US.
Among the 11 warships currently in the Caribbean is the USS Ford, which houses the Carrier Strike Group featuring nine carrier air wings, or more than 70 aircraft, including squadrons out of Virginia, Florida and Washington state.
Other ships deployed to the region include the USS Iwo Jamia, a Wasp-class amphibious assault vehicle capable of carrying up to six Harrier II attack aircraft.
The USS Gravely and the USS Stockdale, two naval guided-missile destroyers, are currently operating in the Caribbean along with the larger guided-missile cruisers, the USS Lake Erie and the USS Gettysburg.
Up to 2,200 Marines, based out of Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Base New River in North Carolina, are also stationed in the Caribbean.
In total, around 15,000 troops, including the Marines on ships and about 5,000 personnel at bases in Puerto Rico, are now in the region, the Conversation reported.
Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico has been reopened as part of the buildup.
The growing firepower is part of Trump’s Operation Southern Spear, which aims, with support of the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security, to control the flow of deadly narcotics heading north to the US.
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