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Caracas.- The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, showed this Monday willing to talk "face to face" with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, who opened the door to a dialogue with the Chavista leader.
Maduro, after being asked about Trump's statements about the possibility of establishing "discussions" between both countries, assured that "whoever wants to talk to Venezuela, will talk face to face, without any problem", at a time when Washington maintains a military deployment in the Caribbean Sea seen by Caracas as a "threat".
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"Whoever wants to dialogue will always find in us people of their word, decent people, and experienced people to lead Venezuela," he expressed on his weekly program 'Con Maduro+', broadcast by the state-owned channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). However, he clarified that what "cannot be allowed" is that the Venezuelan people are "bombed and massacred." For the Head of State, "only through diplomacy should free countries and Governments understand each other, and only through dialogue should common ground be sought on issues of mutual interest," which, he assured, has been the "invariable position" of his Administration. "Dialogue is the way to seek truth and peace," Maduro said, who firmly questioned "the threat of the use of force or the use of force to impose rules in relations between countries." This Monday, the U.S. president insisted that he does not rule out any option regarding a possible military intervention in Venezuelan territory and said that he is open to talking with his South American counterpart. "I rule nothing out, we simply have to take care of Venezuela," Trump affirmed at an event held in the Oval Office of the White House. The Republican pointed out that Maduro "has not been good to the U.S." and again accused his government of sending members of the Tren de Aragua gang to his country. Trump stated on Sunday that "there could be discussions" with Maduro, "because Venezuela wants to talk", while on Friday he indicated he had already made a determination on what measures to implement regarding the Caribbean country, without giving further details. This Sunday, the U.S. State Department announced that, starting November 24, it will designate the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a group that Washington links to Maduro, whose government considers that statement as "an invention".
