From oil and cooperation on drug trafficking to his own head: What could Maduro offer to appease Trump?

"One question is currently hanging over Washington on pause for the Thanksgiving holiday and Caracas, tense with the prospect of the United States carrying out its threat of military intervention in Venezuela: will Presidents Donald Trump and Nicolas Maduro talk, as the former hinted at in statements to the press on Tuesday? And while that question remains unanswered, another arises: What could Maduro offer the Republican in order to change his mind?"

"I think there's only one thing that could achieve that goal: for him to say he's going to leave. The problem? That's precisely the one thing Maduro isn't going to offer, says Phil Gunson, a British Crisis Group expert who has lived in Venezuela for 26 years. He's already put many things on the negotiating table, regarding energy and other natural resources, and they didn't work, Gunson recalls."

"And we already know Rubio's approach, which is very ideological: for the United States, Maduro is the head of this supposed Cartel of the Suns. He has to go. It's non-negotiable. Anything else will be interpreted as a failure for him, and who knows, it might even mean the end of his tenure as head of the State Department. However, the Venezuelan president has more options at his disposal."

Washington paused for the Thanksgiving holiday as Caracas faces the prospect of U.S. military intervention and uncertainty over possible talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Nicolas Maduro. Only Maduro’s public pledge to resign would likely persuade U.S. leadership to abandon intervention, but Maduro is unwilling to offer that. Previous offers involving energy and natural resources failed to satisfy U.S. negotiators. Marco Rubio’s approach frames Maduro as head of a 'Cartel of the Suns' and demands his removal as non-negotiable. Alternative concessions could include stricter immigration controls or commitments to curb drug trafficking, though Venezuela’s role in fentanyl and cocaine trafficking appears negligible.

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