Maduro on the Verge of Exile? A Review of the Latest Developments in Venezuela

While tensions in Venezuela persist, some reports point to the possibility of talks between the presidents of the United States and Venezuela, while others indicate a covert effort aimed at removing and exiling Maduro and his close associates.

According to Rokna, on Sunday, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that he might engage in dialogue with Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela.
We may speak with Maduro

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Sunday that Washington may hold talks with Nicolás Maduro, who has been facing mounting pressure from the United States.

Speaking on Sunday local time in Florida, shortly before boarding a plane to return to Washington, Trump told reporters: “We may have some talks with Maduro, and we will see what happens.”

The US Navy’s most advanced vessel enters Caribbean waters

However, Trump’s statements expressing Washington’s willingness to speak with the Venezuelan president were made as American media reported the arrival of the United States’ most advanced naval vessel in the Caribbean Sea. NBC News, quoting the Associated Press, reported that the United States’ most advanced aircraft carrier entered the Caribbean on Sunday as part of Washington’s demonstration of military power.

According to this report, the entry of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford marks an important moment in what Trump insists on calling an “anti-narcotics operation,” although it has so far been considered a tactic of increasing pressure on Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela.

Is Maduro being exiled to Turkey?

Meanwhile, the American outlet Politico has examined the possibility of the removal and exile of Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela.

In its report, Politico stated that the Trump administration is discussing whether to exile Maduro and how to lift sanctions on the crisis-stricken country, adding: “Nicolás Maduro, the dictator of Venezuela, and his closest aides should study Turkey, [as] some officials in the Trump administration are in talks about exiling them (Maduro and his associates) to that country—unless they agree to go to Russia, Azerbaijan, or Cuba.”

In this regard, one US official and two individuals familiar with these discussions told Politico that granting Maduro and his aides the possibility of safe transfer to another country is one of the ideas under consideration by Trump’s advisers as they examine what must be done with Venezuela if they succeed in toppling Maduro.

More than 80 killed in Pentagon operations

Separately, the US Department of Defense announced on Sunday that American forces had carried out a new strike on a boat suspected of carrying narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three individuals.

According to the Pentagon, the vessel was in international waters when it was targeted.

Reuters reported that this operation is the twenty-first known attack on drug-carrying vessels by the US military since early September—an action Washington justifies as disrupting narcotics trafficking routes into the United States. According to the report, US attacks on boats and vessels transporting illegal drugs have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people.