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President Donald Trump met with top advisers Monday to review the administration’s escalating pressure campaign on Venezuela, according to a senior U.S. official briefed on the discussion.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Oval Office session included senior members of Trump’s national security team. The White House did not release additional details about the meeting or any decisions that may have been reached.
The discussion came as the administration signals a tougher posture toward Venezuela, which U.S. officials accuse of serving as a hub for drug trafficking operations that fuel deadly narcotics flows into the United States.
On Saturday, President Trump declared that the airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety,” though he offered no explanation of how or when such a restriction would be enforced. The remark prompted uncertainty in Caracas as officials and analysts sought to determine its implications.
President Trump confirmed Sunday that he had spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the United States does not recognize as the country’s legitimate leader.
“I don’t want to comment on it. The answer is yes,” President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked whether he had spoken with Maduro.
The Miami Herald, citing unnamed sources, reported that the president warned Maduro that “you can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now.” According to the report, President Trump offered safe passage for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son, but only if they exited Venezuela immediately.
The administration has been weighing a range of Venezuela-related actions as part of its counternarcotics strategy. Maduro has repeatedly denied accusations that his government is tied to the drug trade.
U.S. military forces operating in the region have focused on disrupting suspected narcotics networks. Since September, U.S. troops have conducted at least 21 strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in at least 83 deaths, according to Pentagon officials.
