Trump Held Secret Call With Maduro To Discuss Possible U.S. Meeting: NYT Report

US President Donald Trump engaged in a confidential telephone conversation last week with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, exploring the prospect of a historic in-person meeting on American soil, according to a New York Times report published on Friday. The discussion, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, unfolded against a backdrop of heightened military posturing in the Caribbean, where the United States has bolstered its naval presence to counter drug smuggling operations linked to Maduro's regime. Multiple sources familiar with the exchange confirmed the details, though no concrete arrangements have materialized for such an unprecedented summit between the two leaders.

The potential encounter, if realized, would mark the first direct face-to-face interaction between a sitting US president and the Venezuelan authoritarian, whose contested 2024 reelection has drawn widespread international condemnation. The call occurred mere days before the State Department formalized its designation of Maduro as the head of the Cartel de los Soles, a purported foreign terrorist organization accused of orchestrating narcotics trafficking into the United States and Europe. This dual-track approach—blending overtures of dialogue with stringent sanctions—mirrors Trump's established pattern of leveraging both carrots and sticks in dealings with adversarial nations.

Amid the revelations, Trump's administration persists in its aggressive stance, having initiated airstrikes on suspected drug-laden vessels departing from Venezuelan waters since early September. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, legal scholars, and human rights organizations, have decried these operations as extrajudicial killings that bypass international norms and risk broader regional instability. The Venezuelan government vehemently rejects the cartel allegations, portraying the US actions as imperial aggression designed to undermine national sovereignty.

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On Thursday, Trump amplified the rhetoric during a press interaction, reiterating threats to extend bombings from maritime targets to land-based infrastructure within Venezuela. "The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon," he stated, signaling an imminent escalation that could draw the United States deeper into Latin American conflicts. Such pronouncements have intensified fears of a humanitarian crisis in the oil-rich nation, already grappling with economic collapse and mass emigration.

Neither the White House nor Venezuela's communications ministry has issued an official response to inquiries about the call or its implications. As speculation mounts over whether this outreach foreshadows de-escalation or a tactical ploy to extract concessions, the episode underscores the volatile interplay of diplomacy and coercion defining US-Venezuela relations, with potential ramifications for hemispheric security and global counter-narcotics efforts.

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