Report: Trump Threatened Force if Maduro Stayed in Power

By Al Mayadeen English

US President Trump reportedly warned Venezuelan President Maduro in a phone call that failure to step down could lead to the use of force, amid military buildup in the Caribbean.

US President Donald Trump reportedly threatened Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with the use of force if he did not step down voluntarily, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The reported warning came during a phone conversation between Trump and Maduro held last week. According to sources, the US president told his Venezuelan counterpart that "other options," including military action, would be considered if Maduro refused to relinquish power.

Possibility of bilateral meeting raised, then abandoned

The New York Times previously reported that the call included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and touched on the idea of a potential bilateral meeting. However, the sources clarified that no such meeting is currently scheduled.

The call marked a rare direct communication between the two leaders amid mounting tensions and increasingly hostile rhetoric from Washington.

US President Donald Trump announced that the airspace over and surrounding Venezuela is to be considered fully closed. 

In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY."

In a formal communiqué released on Saturday, Venezuelan authorities rejected a series of social media posts attributed to the US executive branch that attempt to impose extraterritorial control over Venezuela’s civil aviation and national skies.

“These declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act,” the government stated, citing Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

When asked if his administration’s operations were focused on combating drug trafficking or on removing Maduro from power, Trump replied it was about “many things.” He went on to suggest that Maduro’s time in power was limited, stating, “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah,” when asked if the Venezuelan leader's days were numbered.