Trump briefly acknowledged the conversation on Sunday but provided few details. “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,” he said.
Maduro expressed optimism about the diplomatic channel. “If that call means that steps are being taken toward respectful dialogue between states, between countries, then dialogue is welcome, diplomacy is welcome, because we will always seek peace,” he said, later emphasizing in English: “Welcome dialogue, welcome diplomats, welcome peace. Peace, yes. War, never, never in your life.”
The call came amid escalating military tensions and U.S. operations targeting Venezuela. Tensions intensified after Trump announced last Saturday that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela was to be considered closed “in its entirety.”
Earlier, the U.S. deployed a fleet of warships to the Caribbean in August and the world’s largest aircraft carrier in November, citing efforts to combat drug trafficking. Since September, the U.S. has carried out at least 21 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific against boats suspected of transporting narcotics, killing at least 83 people.
Earlier this week, Trump reiterated that he would soon begin targeting Venezuelan drug trafficking networks “by land.”
While the Trump administration maintains that these actions aim to combat regional drug trafficking, Maduro’s government claims that Washington is using anti-drug operations as a pretext to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves and to undermine his government.
