Trump announced a phone call with Maduro but refused to disclose details
Kyiv • UNN
US President Donald Trump confirmed a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but did not provide any details. Trump also commented on his warning about closing Venezuelan airspace, stating that it was not a signal for an airstrike.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he had a phone conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but did not elaborate on the details of the conversation when asked about it today aboard Air Force One. This was reported by CNN, writes UNN.
Details
"I don't want to comment on it; the answer is yes," Trump said. "I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call."
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump and Maduro spoke by phone earlier this month.
Trump also told reporters that his social media warning yesterday that Venezuelan airspace should be considered closed was not a signal of an imminent airstrike.
"You shouldn't read anything into it," the president said.
Trump explained that he issued the airspace warning "because we consider Venezuela not a very friendly country."
Shortly after Trump confirmed their phone conversation, Maduro made his first public appearance in several days, ending speculation in the country that he had fled.
Maduro, who usually appears on Venezuelan television several times a week, had not been seen in public since Wednesday — when he posted a video of himself driving through Caracas on his Telegram channel — which fueled intense rumors about his whereabouts.
He appeared at an annual special coffee awards event in eastern Caracas. In images broadcast live online, the president sat before an audience and presented medals to coffee producers showcasing their best products.
At the end of the event, he exclaimed that Venezuela is "unbreakable, inviolable, invincible," speaking about the country's economic sectors.
His words seemed to be an allusion to the strained relations with the United States.
Recall
On Saturday, Trump stated that the airspace over and around Venezuela should be considered "completely closed," but provided no further details.
"To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers: please consider the airspace over and around Venezuela completely closed. Thank you for your attention to this matter," the US president wrote on the Truth Social social network.
Earlier, Trump stated that the US "will very soon start stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers by land."