White House gives Maduro ultimatum as U.S. moves toward land operations
· Yahoo NewsAs Washington prepares to launch land attacks inside Venezuela, a long-awaited phone call between the White House and Caracas aimed at defusing the crisis carried a blunt message for strongman Nicolás Maduro: You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now, sources familiar with the exchange told the Miami Herald.
The call — which The New York Times reported took place last week — quickly reached an impasse as it became clear that the two sides’ positions were far apart. Washington demanded that Maduro and his top allies leave Venezuela immediately to allow the restoration of democratic rule, while regime leaders proposed handing political control to the opposition but retaining command of the armed forces.
According to the sources, the U.S. message to Maduro was direct: Safe passage would be guaranteed for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son only if he agreed to resign right away.
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The conversation unfolded amid growing signs that the Trump administration is preparing a more assertive phase of operations targeting Venezuela’s so-called Cartel de los Soles, which Washington says is headed by Maduro and other top officials.
Washington has long accused Maduro and his top allies of running the cartel. In 2020, the Justice Department indicted the Venezuelan president and more than a dozen officials, calling the regime a “narco-terrorist enterprise.”
The U.S. has placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro —the largest reward ever offered for a sitting head of state— and $25 million for ruling-party strongman Diosdado Cabello.
On Thursday, President Trump announced that U.S. military actions — until now focused on sinking speedboats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean — would soon expand onto Venezuelan territory. Speaking to service members during a Thanksgiving call, he said the U.S. Armed Forces would “very soon” begin land-based operations to disrupt what he described as Venezuelan drug-trafficking networks.
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One source said the call, viewed as a last-ditch effort to avoid a direct confrontation, stalled over three issues.
“First, Maduro asked for global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected,” said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “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 arrangement, the source added, resembled a “Cuban model” that left the Ortega brothers as the real power behind the scenes and ultimately helped pave their return to government. The administration rejected that proposal as well.
The third sticking point was timing: Washington insisted Maduro resign immediately, and Caracas refused.
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The call — initially brokered by Brazil, Qatar, and Turkey — has not been repeated. After Trump’s announcement on Saturday that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety,” the Maduro government attempted to place another call to Washington but received no response.
The airspace announcement, widely interpreted in Venezuela as a prelude to an imminent attack, further jolted an already-tense standoff. Addressing “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” Trump offered no operational details but warned that the directive required immediate attention. His post came amid a rapid escalation in U.S. military posture toward Caracas and rising fears of conflict across the Caribbean.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The declaration capped a week in which the administration signaled it was preparing a more aggressive phase against the Cartel de los Soles.
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On Thursday, Trump said maritime operations had already destroyed more than 20 vessels and resulted in more than 80 deaths since Sept. 1, claiming the United States had halted “85%” of the maritime flow. Venezuelan groups, he said, were “sending poison” northward that kills “thousands of people a year.”
At the same time, Washington has moved to expand its legal authority. On Monday, the State Department formally designated the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, placing Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López in the same legal category as leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The designation, published in the Federal Register, is seen as a tool that grants the administration new latitude to undertake military action without additional congressional approval.
Analysts say the measure is sweeping in scope. Because U.S. officials argue the cartel operates from within the Venezuelan state, the designation effectively treats the Maduro government as part of a terrorist network.
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Experts note the move could allow the administration to invoke the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the legal basis for most U.S. counterterrorism operations over the past two decades. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation “opens up a lot of new options,” and Trump has suggested it could clear the way for strikes on Venezuelan assets and infrastructure. He has also said he remains open to negotiations.
Caracas denounced the move, calling it a false pretext for foreign intervention and insisting the cartel is an American invention. “It is foolish for the Venezuelan government to waste part of its valuable governing time responding to these slanders and calumnies,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said Monday, adding that Venezuelans remained “united and cohesive” and were preparing for Christmas festivities.
The expanding legal framework has coincided with a significant buildup of U.S. military hardware near Venezuela’s borders. For more than two months, American naval and air assets have surged into the Caribbean, including the Nov. 16 arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
At least 10 additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 fighter jets are also deployed. U.S. commanders say the missions support counter-narcotics operations, but regional observers note the level of firepower far exceeds typical interdiction activity.