The president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, held a telephone conversation with the president, Nicolás Maduro, at the end of last week, as revealed this Friday The New York Times.
According to NYT sources, the call took place in “correct” terms and that it could be a first step to continue the dialogue and they agree that the conversation opens the door to a diplomatic channel that contrasts with the accusations of drug trafficking against the national government and the military or the constant veiled threat of a possible action in Venezuelan territory by the American forces.
The leaders discussed a possible meeting, according to some people with knowledge of the matter, even as the United States continues to threaten military action against Venezuela. However, it was learned that at the moment there are no plans for such a meeting.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also participated in the phone call. According to the NYT, the conversation took place days before the designation of a foreign terrorist organization by the United States Department of State for the invention of the North American government, which they call the Cartel of the Suns, came into effect.
Trump has been leaving open the possibility of that call for weeks. Last Tuesday he dropped it again. “If we can save lives, if we can do things the good way, that’s good. And if we have to do it the bad way, that would also be good,” the North American president reportedly warned, who, according to what he said that day, that the respective teams were already in contact with the intention of reaching that direct conversation between the two leaders.
Beyond the cordial tone of the call, the details of the conversation have not emerged, but Trump maintains that push-and-pull strategy, as expressed this Friday, after announcing that his government plans “very soon” to arrest drug traffickers linked to Venezuela “by land”, after his campaign of maritime attacks in which more than 80 people have been “extrajudicially” executed, which has been described as such by experts in international law and by the UN. For their part, US authorities have not provided any evidence that the targets were involved in drug trafficking.
The United States has deployed a significant military presence in the Caribbean focused on Venezuela, claiming that its objective is to fight drug cartels, but they have also made it clear that they are seeking a regime change, possibly by force, which has been denounced by Nicolás Maduro himself during the 17 weeks of threats that the Trump government has maintained.
Trump has a long history of pursuing conflicting strategies against his adversaries, talks on the one hand and threats of force on the other.
