US President Donald J. Trump held a telephone conversation last week with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, The New York Times revealed on Friday. The call, which represents a gesture of rapprochement amid heightened hostilities between the two countries, included the possibility of a future meeting between the two leaders on US soil, an idea that would mark a significant shift in relations between Washington and Caracas. According to one of the newspaper's sources, the meeting has not yet taken place.
The contact comes at a time of heightened political and military tension. The United States has reinforced its presence in the Caribbean, while Venezuela denounces movements it interprets as a direct threat against its president, Nicolás Maduro. According to The New York Times, the conversation opens the door to a diplomatic path that contrasts sharply with the accusations of drug trafficking against Maduro and his military leadership, or the constant veiled threat of possible intervention on Venezuelan soil.
In the call, in addition to Donald J. Trump as the representative of the United States and Nicolás Maduro on behalf of Venezuela, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the main supporter of the pressure strategy on the Venezuelan regime, also participated.
Donald Trump has been leaving open the possibility of that call for several days. The White House occupant's strategy is, on the one hand, to escalate the pressure, and, on the other, to open a door to dialogue with Nicolás Maduro and build a bridge to avoid the conflict that could be provoked in Venezuela through less diplomatic actions.
The details of the conversation have not been made public, but Trump is sticking to this tug-of-war strategy. The Republican announced this Thursday that his administration plans to “very soon” arrest drug traffickers linked to Venezuela “by land,” following his campaign of maritime attacks in which more than 80 people have died aboard some 20 alleged drug boats. This ambiguous announcement—it is unclear how the United States would carry out this threat—once again highlighted the tension and uncertainty that have characterized relations between Caracas and Washington in recent months.
