Trump says US may open talks with Venezuela's Maduro
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States may open talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, Reuters reports.
It was one of the first signs of a possible path toward defusing an increasingly tense situation in the region as the U.S. wages a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Trump offered no further details about the possibility of talks with Maduro, whom the U.S. has accused of ties to the illegal drug trade, which Maduro denies.
Senior Trump administration officials held three meetings at the White House last week to discuss options for possible military operations against Venezuela, including land strikes inside the country, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's latest remarks.
Earlier on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would designate an alleged drug organization, Cartel de los Soles, as a "foreign terrorist organization," which makes it a crime for anyone in the U.S. to provide material support to the group.
Views115
