Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday about his conversation with Donald Trump on November 21. “About, the White House called Miraflores Palace, and I had a conversation with President Donald Trump,” Maduro began. “It was respectful and cordial. If that call signifies steps being taken toward a respectful dialogue between our countries, then dialogue and diplomacy are welcome,” he said live on television. Maduro, thus breaking his silence on the conversation, emphasized that his years as foreign minister taught him to exercise prudence on important matters.
Chavismo had spent days suppressing any information about this call, which has given rise to countless speculations. The existence of this conversation was revealed by The New York Times, which interpreted it as a step toward dialogue between the two leaders. Sources familiar with the conversation told EL PAÍS that the tone between the two leaders was “correct” and that, as Maduro now suggests, it could be a first step toward continuing the dialogue in a context of “high tension.”
Trump had already addressed the existence of that call. “I don’t want to comment on it. The answer is yes,” he asserted on Sunday. The Republican magnate was again ambiguous, as in many of the statements he has made in recent weeks about Venezuela. “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,” he concluded. When questioned by reporters, Trump spoke again on Wednesday about his conversation with Maduro. He was brief. “I spoke briefly with him about a couple of things. We’ll see what happens,” he said at the White House.
In his remarks to the press, Trump denied that there had been a second conversation with Maduro, a scenario that had been speculated about in recent days. Sources familiar with the inner workings of the crisis believe that if such a conversation did take place, it was agreed to remain secret.
Since it became known that the two leaders spoke, all sorts of theories have been leaked about the terms of that call. According to Reuters, Maduro conditioned his departure from power on an amnesty for himself and his family, the lifting of sanctions against about a hundred high-ranking officials, and the installation of an interim government led by his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez. This proposal was reportedly rejected by Trump, according to various US media outlets. However, this is not what can be inferred from Maduro's statements.
The leader of Chavismo spoke from a neighborhood in Petare, a working-class area of Caracas, where he went with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and other military leaders to meet with community members. During the meeting, he also confirmed the resumption of deportation flights for migrants and reported that one would be landing Wednesday afternoon in Maiquetía, despite the ongoing airspace restrictions imposed by Washington's warning of increased military operations. According to Chavismo, the reactivation of these deportations came at the request of the United States, suggesting that some channels of communication between the two countries remain open.
In his brief remarks about the call, the Venezuelan president appears to be keeping the door open to negotiations. He reiterated, as he has done recently, his familiarity with the United States and the numerous times he has traveled there on diplomatic missions during Hugo Chávez's presidency.
He did not, however, address Trump's recent statements announcing that ground operations against drug cartels operating in Venezuela would soon begin, in which he vowed to"wipe out all those sons of bitches." To respond to Trump, Maduro prefers to put his closest collaborators on the front lines. The Chavista leader curses anti-imperialism, issues warnings of resistance, but avoids referring to Trump directly in derogatory terms.
The conversation took place amid the escalating US military action against Venezuela, with an unprecedented deployment of aircraft and warships in the Caribbean. The call represented a stalemate in a tense situation where Washington is tightening the screws on the Chavista regime every day: from attacks on alleged drug-running boats and the closure of Venezuelan airspace to, more recently, attacks against drug traffickers on Venezuelan territory. Trump asserted on Wednesday that this is not “a pressure campaign” against the regime. “It’s much more than that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maduro is forging ahead amid the geopolitical crisis that has the region on high alert. On Wednesday morning, two US military bombers flew again near Venezuela, along the western coast, according to flight monitoring platforms. Similar operations have been recorded in recent weeks. So far, the Chavista regime has not responded to these movements, even though on previous occasions, the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense labeled them provocations and denounced them as threats to national sovereignty. Whatever the reason for that statement, tensions remain high.
