"By Trump's own account, it was less an attempt at opening dialogue en route to a mutually beneficial compromise than a bid to up the ante by imparting an ultimatum. You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now, Trump is said to have told a leader who he has branded a narco-terrorist and baselessly accused of emptying his country's prisons in order to send its most violent criminals to the US."
"Just months ago, Trump's special missions envoy, Richard Grenell, seemed to have paved a path to compromise with Caracas persuading Maduro to accept return flights of deported migrants from the US, while also agreeing to release to free 10 US nationals and legal residents held captive in the US. Maduro has also floated the possibility of further agreement by offering the US access to Venezuela's rich supply of oil and mineral resources."
Weeks of saber-rattling, dark threats and a US military buildup culminated on 21 November in a telephone call in which President Trump delivered an ultimatum to Nicolas Maduro to leave the country. Trump has branded Maduro a narco-terrorist and accused him of emptying prisons to send violent criminals to the US. Months earlier, Richard Grenell had negotiated return flights of deported migrants and the release of detained US nationals, and Maduro offered access to Venezuela's oil and mineral resources. Grenell was later replaced by more hawkish advisers, increasing the prospect of confrontation despite prior diplomatic openings.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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