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. Prior to then, the most recent sign of the Venezuelan leader’s whereabouts had been Wednesday, when he posted video of himself driving around Caracas on his Telegram channel.
The Miami Herald reported Sunday that Trump offered Maduro, his wife and son safe passage out of the South American country if he agreed to surrender power immediately. The Maduro administration reportedly countered by offering to surrender political control of Venezuela, but retain control of the armed forces, leading to an impasse.
On Saturday morning, Trump publicly warned pilots to consider the airspace above Venezuela closed, but told reporters aboard Air Force One “don’t read anything into it.”
When asked to confirm reports he had spoken directly to Maduro, as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal had previously reported, the president responded: “I don’t want to comment on that – the answer is yes.”
“I wouldn’t say it went well or badly,” Trump added. “It was a phone call.”
The Maduro government has not made any statement about the call.
Since early September, the US military has carried out nearly two dozen strikes against suspected drug traffickers based in Venezuela, killing more than 80 people.