Donald Trump reportedly issued a strict ultimatum to Nicolás Maduro to immediately leave Venezuela shortly before announcing that the country's airspace was "fully closed," according to a report by the Miami Herald.
According to the report, Washington's warning was conveyed during a telephone call to Caracas. The US offered a guaranteed evacuation for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son, but only if the Venezuelan leader agreed to resign immediately. The discussion "stalled," according to American officials, and within hours, Washington dramatically escalated.
A source stated that the deadlock arose when Maduro demanded "global amnesty for all crimes he and his team have committed"—a request that was rejected. According to the same source, Maduro also requested to retain control of the armed forces, "as happened in Nicaragua in 1991 with Violeta Chamorro," in exchange for free elections. The final sticking point was timing: Washington demanded an immediate resignation, while Caracas refused.
What preceded
On Saturday, November 29, 2025, Trump announced that Venezuelan airspace was now considered "closed in its entirety." The Herald also revealed that the Maduro government attempted to request new communication with Washington, without response.
According to defense experts, Maduro and top figures of his regime may now be facing their most serious threat to date. "I believe operations will begin immediately," former diplomat Vanessa Neumann told Fox News Digital.
Neumann argued that the airspace closure constitutes a "clear public warning that missile attacks may follow," aimed at destroying critical command and control infrastructure. As she said, targets have been mapped by secret operations "for years" and some are considered "capture-or-kill." Trump, however, told reporters on Air Force One that they should not "read anything more into it" in his decision regarding the airspace, when asked if a military strike was imminent.
Neumann, however, stressed that Maduro has minimal options and that the country's armed forces are at a historic low. "You can't simultaneously hit 30 people who are scattered everywhere, but certainly Maduro himself is first on the list," she said.
Venezuela on alert
Venezuela's once-strong armed forces have collapsed after years of corruption, sanctions, defections, and equipment abandonment. "Their equipment is ancient, damaged, and unmaintained," Neumann underlined, noting that much of the Russian and American material is "practically useless."
At the same time, the US officially designated the Cartel de los Soles organization, which is linked to the regime, as a foreign terrorist organization. Neumann reported that the cartel turned the state oil company into a money-laundering mechanism for drug trafficking and utilized military aircraft to transport cocaine from Colombia to Central America and Europe. She revealed that some pilots "were earning huge amounts" from the trafficking, while people who reported the circuit "were disappearing." The cartel is reportedly working closely with Hezbollah and funding terrorist acts.
Tension escalates
The US is also intensifying military and secret operations against drug networks in Venezuelan waters, with targeted attacks on trafficking vessels.
"The decision belongs to Trump—when he says 'Go,' we go," Neumann said. "He has already moved massive forces to the region."
She estimates that the timing is "ideal," as Maduro's key allies—Russia and Iran—are weakened, while China "will not risk" deeper involvement. At the same time, internal repression in Caracas "is so centralized that it can be easily overthrown."
Neumann also mentions that top regime officials—including Delcy Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, and the head of the DGCIM Alexander Granko Arteaga—may be targets for operations. Granko is considered a critical factor for the regime's survival due to the "extremely harsh" repression of the military.
"The people of Venezuela have made it clear they want Maduro out—they voted, demonstrated peacefully, demanded sanctions and international assistance," Neumann said.
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