Trump's phone threat: "Leave the country now"
Published 21.00
"You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you have to leave the country now".
Donald Trump's message to Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro was straight to the point - but Maduro said no.
Now a fateful meeting is expected about the next step in the conflict.
There is a clash of arms and increased tensions between the US and Venezuela. Last week, Donald Trump picked up the phone and called Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro president.
According to sources for the Miami Herald to sources for the Miami Herald newspaper, the American president was clear.
– You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now, he is said to have said, offering safe passage for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores and his son “only if he agrees to resign immediately”.
A stalemate then ensued and it became clear that the two sides’ positions were far apart.
Maduro refused to agree to Trump’s ultimatum.
Members of Venezuela’s intelligence service demonstrate in the capital Caracas.
Ground-based operations
Instead, he is said to have proposed handing over political control to the opposition, but retaining command of the country’s armed forces.
The US has previously announced a $50 million reward for Maduro — the largest reward ever offered for a sitting head of state — and $25 million for the ruling party’s strongman Diosdado Cabello.
On Thursday, President Trump announced that U.S. military action — so far focused on sinking high-speed boats suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean — would soon be extended to Venezuelan territory.
Speaking to military personnel over Thanksgiving, he said the U.S. military would “very soon” begin ground operations to disrupt what he described as Venezuelan smuggling networks.
“Airspace closed”
Following Trump’s announcement on Saturday that Venezuelan airspace would be considered “totally closed,” Maduro and his aides attempted to make another call to Washington but received no answer.
The airspace announcement, widely interpreted in Venezuela as a prelude to an attack, further shook the already tense standoff.
Addressing “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Traffickers and Human Traffickers,” Trump gave no operational details but warned that the directive required immediate attention.
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers, please consider the airspace over and around Venezuela completely closed. Thank you for your attention on this matter!” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Destiny meeting on Monday night
According to sources to CNN, Trump is expected to hold a meeting at the White House on Monday night about the US’s next steps in the conflict.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to attend, among others. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is also expected to attend.
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