Washington [US], December 2: Yesterday (Vietnam time), US President Donald Trump confirmed a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, while newspapers reported that the Caracas government had received an ultimatum from Washington.
President Trump confirmed that he had spoken with Venezuelan leader Maduro , but did not disclose details or the content of the phone call.
The phone call raised questions.
Responding to questions from journalists accompanying him on Air Force One yesterday (Vietnam time), the White House owner briefly said: "I don't want to comment on the phone call (with Mr. Maduro). The answer is yes," according to Reuters. "I'm not saying it was a good or bad meeting, it was just a phone call," the US President said, and did not reveal the time of the phone call.
Previously, The New York Times was the first to report that the White House owner had spoken with Mr. Maduro and discussed the possibility of a bilateral meeting in the US. The Wall Street Journal on November 29, citing a well-informed source, revealed that the conversation also included amnesty conditions if Mr. Maduro resigned, as well as the US guaranteeing the evacuation of Mr. Maduro's family.
On November 30 (US time), Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said on CNN that the US offered the Venezuelan leader the opportunity to leave the country to Russia or elsewhere. According to the Miami Herald , the Maduro government then wanted to arrange another phone call with the US, but Washington did not respond. The Caracas government has not commented on the information from the US.
While he has yet to publicly threaten the Venezuelan government with military force, Trump has said he will soon launch a ground operation against drug trafficking in the country. Asked if his comments about Venezuela's airspace being closed meant an attack on Venezuela was imminent, Trump replied: "Don't read anything into that," according to The Guardian .
Venezuela calls on OPEC for help
AFP reported yesterday that Venezuela said it had asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ), of which it is a member, to help protect Venezuela's abundant oil fields from threats from the US. The request was sent to OPEC through a letter from President Maduro, and was read by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez before an online meeting of OPEC ministers on November 30.
In the letter, Mr. Maduro accused Washington of "trying to seize by force the major oil fields of Venezuela, the country with the largest reserves in the world," according to TeleSUR. "I hope to count on your best efforts to help put an end to this aggression, which is escalating and seriously threatens the balance of the international energy market, both for oil-producing and consuming countries," the letter said.
OPEC's response to the proposal is unclear. While Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels by 2023, the country exported just $4.05 billion worth of crude that year, partly due to US sanctions.
Also yesterday, President Trump said he would review reports that the US military conducted a second attack on a suspected drug ship in the Caribbean , killing all survivors of the September 2 attack. The US commander-in-chief also said he did not want this additional blow.
The Washington Post and CNN, citing informed sources, revealed that US forces received instructions from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to destroy everyone on board. Mr. Hegseth dismissed the information as "fake news." President Trump also said that Mr. Hegseth said he did not give the "kill all" order.
AFP quoted Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez as saying he had met with the families of Venezuelans killed in recent attacks by the US military at sea. When asked about the US Defense Secretary's orders as reported by the press, Mr. Rodriguez called these extrajudicial executions.
Source: Thanh Nieu Newspaper
