The Reuters agency reported on Monday night (1st) that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, refused a series of demands made by the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, in the phone call between them on November 21st, but gave a deadline of one week for the Chavista leader to leave the South American country for another nation of his choice – which did not happen.
The British news agency cited as sources four people who obtained information about the contents of the phone call.
According to these sources, Maduro told Trump that he would be willing to leave Venezuela, but presented some demands.
One of them was that he and his family would receive complete legal amnesty, which would include the revocation of all sanctions imposed by the United States and the closure of a case for crimes against humanity that is being processed at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The demand draws attention, as the United States is not a member of the ICC and this year the Trump administration applied sanctions against the court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, and four court judges due to the arrest order against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Reuters, in the phone call, Maduro also asked for the removal of sanctions against more than a hundred officials of the Venezuelan regime, on accusations of human rights violations, drug trafficking and corruption, and for Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to lead an interim government until new elections are held.
The sources interviewed by the British agency said that Trump rejected the requests, but said that Maduro and his family had a week to leave Venezuela for the destination they preferred.
The deadline ended last Friday (28), and the following day Trump declared that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “completely closed”. Before the Reuters news, the Miami Herald had reported details of the phone call.
Information about permission for the Venezuelan dictator to go to a country of his choice had already been released, but until now it was not known about the one-week deadline given by the American president.
Over the weekend, Trump confirmed to journalists that he spoke with Maduro, but did not give details about what was discussed. The sources interviewed by Reuters said that the Chavista regime is trying to schedule another conversation between the two leaders.
This Monday, in a speech in Caracas after participating in a march called to accompany the inauguration of the Integrated Bolivarian Commands, Maduro once again provoked the United States.
“The national power of Venezuela in the 21st century is based on the immense power of its people, on their conscience, on their institutions, on their rifles and on their decision to build this homeland above any difficulty,” declared Maduro, according to the EFE agency.