Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): According to a report on the content of the US President's phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart amid tensions between the two countries, Trump gave Maduro a tough deadline to resign and leave.
According to the Miami Herald, citing informed sources, the Venezuelan president demanded that he be allowed to maintain control of the Venezuelan military if the country paved the way for free elections. He also called for a global amnesty for all alleged charges against him.
According to the report, Trump quickly rejected both requests and then proposed that Maduro resign and leave.
The US president only confirmed the call to reporters yesterday, adding, “I can’t say whether it went well or badly.”
According to reports, in the call, Trump and Maduro’s teams discussed the details of Maduro’s “surrender” amid a $50 million reward from the US State Department for his capture.
According to the sources, Trump told Maduro during the call that he, his wife and son could safely leave Venezuela, but they had to do so immediately.
According to the Miami Herald, the offer of amnesty was also extended to Maduro’s top allies, but the failure of the talks has increased Trump’s pressure on the Venezuelan government.
After the phone call about two weeks ago, Trump declared Venezuelan airspace closed and warned that military operations inside Venezuela could begin “very soon.”
Maduro and his allies have called the developments a US colonial invasion and say the Trump administration is trying to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves by force.
The US has carried out at least 21 deadly attacks on small boats it claims are carrying drugs since September.
In one case, it is said to have killed survivors after bombing a boat near Trinidad, a move known as a double tap, carried out under orders from US Secretary of War Pete Hexath to “kill them all.”
Critics and human rights experts have called the bombings extrajudicial executions, and the US Congress has launched an investigation into the incident.