The White House rejected Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro's request for talks with US President Donald Trump to de-escalate tensions between the two sworn enemies. This was reported by UNN with reference to Yahoo News.
Details
The rejection came after two Venezuelan opposition leaders supported the build-up of US naval power near the South American country, calling it critical to restoring democracy.
Trump sent eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean as part of an anti-drug operation that Venezuela believes could be a preamble to an invasion.
In recent weeks, US forces have destroyed at least three vessels believed to be carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing more than a dozen people.
On Sunday, the Venezuelan government released a letter Maduro sent to Trump.
In his message, Maduro, whose re-election in July 2024 was rejected as fraudulent by the Venezuelan opposition and much of the international community, dismissed as "absolutely false" US accusations that he heads a drug cartel and called on Trump to "preserve peace."
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Maduro's letter contained "many lies."
She added that the Trump administration's position on Venezuela "has not changed" and that it considers the regime "illegitimate."
The US troop deployment is the largest in the Caribbean in years.
Maduro accused Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to accelerate the removal of the Venezuelan president during his first term, of trying to influence regime change.
It was noted that this was "the first letter, I will definitely send them more," Maduro said on Monday evening during his weekly television program, during which he said his goal was "to defend the truth of Venezuela."
If they close the door, you open the window, and if they close the window, you open the door with the truth of your country, illuminating the world, illuminating the White House with the light of Venezuela's truth
Maduro's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez last week accused the United States of waging an "undeclared war" in the Caribbean, stressing that passengers of alleged drug boats were "executed without the right to defense."
Thousands of Venezuelans have joined a civilian militia in response to Maduro's call to strengthen the country's struggling defenses.
However, some Venezuelans welcome US actions, hoping they will hasten Maduro's downfall.
Exiled presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the United States considers the democratically elected leader of Venezuela, said the military deployment was a "necessary measure to eliminate the criminal structure" that he said Maduro leads.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado agreed, saying Venezuelan criminal groups are a "real and growing threat to the security and stability" of America.
Maduro's declaration of victory in last year's election sparked violent protests that were brutally suppressed, killing more than two dozen people and putting hundreds behind bars.
The opposition said its own results showed that Gonzalez Urrutia, who ran after the regime banned Machado from running, easily defeated Maduro.
Under threat of arrest, Gonzalez Urrutia fled to Spain. Machado remains in Venezuela and is in hiding.
Recall
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro proposed direct talks with US President Donald Trump's administration days after the first US strike on a boat from the South American country that Trump said was carrying drug traffickers.