Maduro is ready to leave under the condition of amnesty from the Americans

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is ready to leave provided he receives amnesty from the US for himself and his closest associates, wrote the Atlantic. According to the website, the Americans are negotiating with Maduro on this topic.

The US accuses Maduro of directing drug smuggling and does not recognize him as the rightful president of Venezuela. Most U.S. attacks on suspected smugglers' boats have occurred off the country's coast. For weeks, the United States has been gathering forces in the region, carried out two demonstration bomber flights towards Venezuela and sent the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group there from Europe. President Donald Trump himself said that the Venezuelan leader's days were numbered, but he refused to say whether he would attack Venezuela. Earlier, the Miami Herald reported that the decision on the attacks had already been made. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called this information fake news.

As the Atlantic wrote, it is Rubio who favors the option of removing Maduro from power. To fit in with Trump's domestic policy priorities, Rubio presents Maduro as responsible for smuggling drugs into the United States and fueling migration to destabilize the United States.

In August, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the United States was offering a reward of $50 million for information leading to the arrest of the Venezuelan leader. Bondi called the Venezuelan leader “one of the world's largest drug smugglers who poses a threat to the national security” of the United States.

During Donald Trump's first presidential term, his administration accused Maduro of drug terrorism in 2020 and announced a $15 million and then $25 million reward for information about him. As highlighted by the Washington Post, it is unlikely that the US will be able to arrest Maduro while he remains on Venezuelan territory. However, the bounty limits his ability to travel and increases the pressure on him.

Maduro faces a choice: stay and face the potential consequences, or flee – noted the portal. But Trump is in no rush to confront Maduro and is sending mixed signals to allies about whether the pressure campaign is a precursor to an attempt to remove the leader from power by military force or whether it is a bluff, former and current officials said.

At the same time, it looks like Trump's interest in negotiations over Maduro's departure may increase in the coming weeks, one of the sources said.

Those in favor of negotiations maintain that an attempt to remove Maduro by force would be unpredictable and potentially risky. The Trump administration has not specified who it would like to see as Venezuela's leader.

According to the website, Maduro is willing to leave in an orderly manner if the United States would grant him and his most important collaborators amnesty, abolish the reward for his capture and guarantee him a comfortable life in exile, according to people with contacts with the regime in Caracas.

“If there is enough pressure and enough on the plate, all options with Maduro are on the table,” said a person who is in talks with both sides.

Critics of this solution, however, emphasize that Maduro has not made any serious offers to leave power peacefully, so military force may be the only effective strategy.

– That doesn't mean he can't get out of the hole he dug himself, but it's pretty deep in there, said a senior administration official.

Trump could always backtrack, presenting the buildup of forces in the region as an anti-drug campaign, and announce that the threat has been neutralized without attacks on Venezuela, even if Maduro remains in power, the Atlantic noted.

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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