The game's afoot. Venezuelan El Presidente Nicolás Maduro has reappeared after being out of public view for five days, putting paid to some rumors that he had fled the country with his family in compliance with President Trump's demand.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro appeared in public Sunday for the first time in five days, temporarily putting an end to speculation that he had fled the country following a reported ultimatum from President Trump to leave or else.
Maduro, 63, presented prizes and gave remarks at an annual coffee awards ceremony in the eastern part of the capital, Caracas, CNN reported, at one point leading a chant that Venezuela’s economy was “indestructible, untouchable, unbeatable.”
Prior to then, the most recent sign of Maduro’s whereabouts had been Wednesday, when he posted video of himself driving around Caracas on his Telegram channel.
This could be seen as an act of defiance, wherein Maduro made a point of appearing in public in reply to President Trump's pressuring him to step down and leave the country. Or, he may be trying to shore up domestic support with a show of strength. In any case, he apparently has not left Venezuela. That's not a surprise; the sudden departure of dictators from Latin American countries has historically not gone well for the former dictators.
Read More: New: Trump Warns Airlines Off Volatile Venezuelan Airspace
Trump's Ultimatum to Maduro: Flee Now or Face American Forces
On other news, President Donald Trump has called a meeting at 5:00 PM Eastern time in the White House to discuss next steps for dealing with Venezuela. Expected attendees include Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Trump has upped his diplomatic, economic, and military pressure on Nicolás Maduro's regime in a weekend of heightened warnings, expanding U.S. military deployments in the Caribbean, and a sharply worded directive from Trump cautioning airlines, pilots, and criminal networks to avoid Venezuelan airspace.
The gathering comes amid new reporting that Trump personally told Maduro to flee the country to protect himself and his family.
"The answer is yes," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday when asked whether he had spoken with Maduro, declining to elaborate.
As yet, there has been no statement from the White House as to what those next steps may be, although there are indications that both military and diplomatic measures are on the table. However, as I reported earlier on Monday, the United States has staged significant military forces into the area. While an actual invasion of the South American nation seems unlikely, the American forces already deployed could easily and rapidly gain total control of the skies over Venezuela and then commence with the systematic destruction of the country's ground forces.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that Maduro himself could be a target. He may be seized and brought to the United States to face criminal charges; he and 14 other Venezuelan government officials were indicted in 2020 on charges of narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking.
This is a developing situation. We will continue to update you as events warrant.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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