Trump confirms secret call with Maduro. What was really said?

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday (Nov 30) that he recently spoke with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The revelation comes amid the sharpest tension in years between Washington and Caracas. The call was reportedly brief, and Trump refused to reveal whether it "went well or badly". While talking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he said, "I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call", offering little detail beyond the acknowledgement itself.

What did Trump-Maduro talk about?

The New York Times reported days earlier that the two leaders discussed conditions for a potential face-to-face meeting, while the Wall Street Journal said the call touched on possible amnesty should Maduro were to step down. On Sunday, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, while appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" talk show, said that the US has offered Maduro the chance to leave his country for Russia or elsewhere.

Attack or anti-narcotics operation?

Caracas, meanwhile, has accused the United States of preparing for an attack. Venezuelan officials point to an expanding deployment of US naval and air assets in nearby waters, as well as statements from Washington claiming Venezuelan airspace is now effectively closed. US officials, however, insist that the build-up was part of a sweeping anti-drug operation launched in September, aimed at shutting down trafficking routes.

Trump has framed the mission as a crackdown on what Washington calls the "Cartel of the Suns," a group it claims is run by Maduro and senior figures in Venezuela’s security forces. The US has even offered a $50 million reward for Maduro’s capture. However, Venezuelan officials and experts say the cartel is more rumour than fact and insist that it refers to the corruption of senior officials by criminal gangs.

Venezuela seeks OPEC's help

Inside Venezuela, the government is moving to shore up political support abroad. Maduro has formally asked Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to intervene and help "stop this (American) aggression, which is being readied with more and more force." In a letter to the group, Maduro alleged Washington "is trying to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the biggest in the world, by using military force," Maduro wrote in the letter.