Nicolas Maduro Photo: Pedro Rances Mattey / AFP / Profimedia
The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, said on Monday, during a demonstration in Caracas, where thousands of supporters gathered, that he would refuse the “peace of slaves”, in the context in which the deployment of military forces in the Caribbean puts the country “to the test”, informs AFP.
“We want peace, but a peace with sovereignty, equality, freedom! We don't want the peace of slaves, nor the peace of colonies!” Nicolas Maduro said, as US President Donald Trump called a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss Venezuela.
“You can save yourself and those close to you, but you have to leave the country now,” Trump told Maduro in a phone conversation ten days ago, according to sources cited by the American daily Miami Herald. The US is showing signs of preparing for ground strikes in Venezuela, although it is unclear how extensive a possible military campaign would be.
Ultimatum: Trump directly asked Maduro to give up power and leave the country / Venezuela's leader refused and came up with a counter-proposal
Donald Trump gave Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum, asking him to immediately relinquish power, a message conveyed during their recent phone conversation.
Venezuela's authoritarian leader refused, demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and his allies, writes the Miami Herald.
On Sunday, the US president confirmed that the conversation had taken place, telling reporters: “I wouldn't say it went well or badly, it was a phone call.”
The conversation came amid increasingly clear signals that the Trump administration is preparing a more aggressive phase of operations against Venezuela's so-called Cartel de los Soles, which Washington says is led by Maduro and other senior officials.
On Thursday, President Trump announced that US military action – which has so far focused on sinking speedboats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean – will soon expand to Venezuelan territory.
Speaking to the military during a Thanksgiving phone call, he said the US military would begin “very soon” ground operations to disrupt what he described as Venezuelan drug trafficking networks.
