US President Donald Trump said Friday that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has offered"everything" to avoid open conflict, and confirmed that his forces in the Caribbean attacked another vessel, this time a submarine"loaded with drugs."
Regarding the alleged offers, The New York Times had previously revealed that the Chavista leader offered the Trump administration everything from oil to eliminating agreements with American enemies in order to avoid a conflict between Caracas and Washington.
"Under a deal brokered between a senior U.S. official and top Maduro aides, Venezuela's autocratic leader offered to open all existing and future oil and gold projects to U.S. companies, grant preferential contracts to U.S. firms, reverse the flow of Venezuelan oil exports from China to the United States, and drastically reduce his country's energy and mining contracts with Chinese, Iranian, and Russian firms," the NYT details in its article.
Washington has maintained several warships in international waters off the Venezuelan coast in the Caribbean since August and has launched at least six attacks against small boats belonging to suspected"narco-terrorists," leaving at least 27 dead.
As part of the increasingly harsh standoff between the two countries, Venezuela has strengthened its military presence in states bordering Colombia.
Thursday's attack, confirmed by Trump himself, was against"a submarine specifically built to transport large quantities of drugs."
According to the press, there may have been survivors in this attack, a possibility that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was present at the White House meeting, declined to confirm.
These two people are believed to be in U.S. custody.
In response to press reports about the Caracas regime, or some of its top officials, making overtures to prevent an escalation, Trump responded with a resounding response.
Maduro"has offered everything. Do you know why? Because he doesn't want to mess with the United States," he said in response to a reporter's questions during a press conference during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Washington's official position is that Nicolás Maduro heads the so-called Cartel of the Suns, and that there is a $50 million reward for his capture.
Adept at show-of-force diplomacy and intimidating messages, Trump announced on Wednesday that he had authorized CIA operations against Venezuela.
The CIA has a long history of interventions in Latin America, but confirmations of such operations usually came later, even years later.
Maduro's response to Washington's accusations
Venezuela attributes these accusations to a plan to seek "regime change" and seize the country's vast oil reserves.
In the middle of this tension is the political opposition, with its leader, María Corina Machado, who just received the Nobel Peace Prize and who insists that Maduro will leave, with or without negotiations.
Maduro denied on Friday that his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had negotiated with the United States his alleged departure from power, as reported by the Miami Herald.
"They tried to create an intrigue that we were divided, that we were at odds. No one believed that. That's simply impossible," Maduro asserted at an event with Rodríguez.
"You're idiots. Stupid, stupid, stupid, you are very stupid," he added in English. He did not comment on Trump's statements on Friday.
Rodríguez already denied it on Thursday."Fake," he said.
US Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of the Southern Command, announced his retirement by the end of the year, after just one year in office.
Military reinforcement on the border
In response to Washington's deployment, Venezuela is conducting military maneuvers, initially focusing on border areas and the coast.
Maduro announces state-by-state deployments almost daily. On Friday, he said the Armed Forces conducted exercises between midnight and 5:00 a.m. local time (9:00 a.m. GMT) in Mérida, Trujillo, Lara, and Yaracuy (west).
On Thursday, authorities announced deployments in Táchira and Amazonas, with patrols and control procedures at border points with Colombia.
In Táchira, where the three main crossings connecting Venezuela with Colombia are located, the troops were deployed around the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, which connects the Colombian cities of Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario with the Venezuelan city of San Antonio, AFP found.
In Amazonas, troops dispersed to protect"strategic companies" and "basic services."
There were also maneuvers in Nueva Esparta, Sucre, and Delta Amacuro, near Trinidad and Tobago.
Trump has hinted at least twice in recent weeks that he is now considering ground attacks on the territory, because in his view there are almost no more boats left to attack in the Caribbean.
against suspects who have not been arrested or questioned.
