Trump reportedly issued ultimatum to Maduro to surrender power in Venezuela

The US president delivered what sources described as a “direct message” to his South American counterpart, according to reports.

According to Rokna, citing The Guardian, Donald Trump is said to have given Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum to give up power immediately during their recent phone call — but Venezuela’s authoritarian leader refused, instead demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and his close associates.

On Sunday, Trump confirmed that the call had occurred, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly, it was a phone call.”

Neither Washington nor Caracas has provided additional information on the issues raised during the unusual conversation, which is believed to have taken place on 21 November.

However, sources informed the Miami Herald that Trump conveyed a “blunt message” to Maduro, who has been the target of a four-month US pressure campaign involving the deployment of a large US naval force off Venezuela’s northern coastline.

According to the report, Trump told Maduro: “You can save yourself and those close to you, but you must leave the country now,” adding that safe passage for Maduro, his wife, and his son would be offered “only if he agreed to resign immediately.”

But the Venezuelan president reportedly rejected stepping down at once and instead put forward several counter-demands, including international immunity from prosecution and permission to relinquish political authority while retaining command of the armed forces.

The newspaper added that no further direct communication has taken place between the two leaders. Maduro allegedly sought a second call last weekend after Trump declared Venezuela’s airspace “closed in its entirety,” but, according to the Miami Herald, “the Maduro government … received no response.” The first call was reportedly facilitated by Brazil, Qatar and Turkey.

On Monday, speaking to thousands of supporters, Maduro declared that Venezuela would not accept “a slave’s peace.”

“We want peace, but peace with sovereignty, equality, freedom! We do not want a slave’s peace, nor a colonial peace!” he told the crowd in Caracas.

Despite claims that Trump delivered an ultimatum, many analysts doubt he intends to follow through on his threats with significant military action.

“Maduro and most of his circle view US military threats as a bluff,” a person with regular contact with senior Venezuelan officials told the Wall Street Journal last month.

Since taking office in 2013, Maduro has weathered multiple crises — including Trump’s first-term “maximum pressure” strategy, several waves of major protests, a severe economic collapse, a 2018 assassination attempt, and a disputed presidential election last year, which he is widely believed to have lost to opposition candidate Edmundo González.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal urged the Trump administration to intensify pressure on Venezuela, arguing that “removing Maduro is in the US national interest.” Its editorial board warned: “If Maduro refuses to leave, and Trump backs away from acting to unseat him, both Trump and the credibility of the US will suffer.”

Seeking a peaceful resolution, Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, has suggested that the city of Cartagena could host talks between Maduro’s government and the Venezuelan opposition.

In a letter to Opec published by Venezuelan state media on Sunday, Maduro accused Washington of attempting to “seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves — the largest in the world — through the lethal use of military force.”