Donald Trump isn’t afraid to talk to anyone. Even the most ruthless world leaders.
And the contents of a high-stakes phone call between Trump and a socialist dictator has leaked.
President Trump recently confirmed that he spoke on the phone with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. When speaking about the conversation aboard Air Force One, Trump kept his answer brief: “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call.”
Maduro, speaking at an official event carried on state television, described the same call in much warmer terms. He told his audience that the contact came from the White House and insisted the exchange had been respectful.
“I received a call and spoke with the President of the United States, Donald Trump,” Maduro stated.
“I can say that the conversation was respectful in tone… I can even say that it was cordial between the President of the United States and the President of Venezuela.”
He went on to suggest that any move toward formal talks would be positive. “If that call means that steps are being taken toward a respectful dialogue from State to State, from country to country, then dialogue is welcomed, diplomacy is welcomed, because we will always seek peace,” he added.
Maduro even attempted a few words in English: “Welcome diolops, welcome diplomats, welcome the pits. Pits? Yes. War? Never, never in the like.”
Maduro also took the opportunity to remind viewers of his long diplomatic résumé, noting that he served six years as foreign minister under the late Hugo Chávez.
“I have come to appreciate prudence,” Maduro said. “I don’t like microphone diplomacy. When there are important matters, they must be kept quiet until they are resolved.”
The timing of the call is noteworthy. Relations between Washington and Caracas have grown increasingly tense in recent months, especially after the United States expanded naval operations in the Caribbean aimed at drug-trafficking networks.
U.S. authorities have formally accused Maduro and senior regime officials of running an organization known as the Cartel of the Suns, which allegedly moves large quantities of cocaine through the region.
The Venezuelan government insists the American naval presence is not about drugs at all, but rather a pretext for an invasion meant to seize the country’s resources and remove Maduro from power.
According to reports from both Reuters and the Miami Herald, the phone call included a direct message from President Trump: Maduro could leave office immediately, take his family, and receive safe passage out of the country.
In response, Maduro reportedly asked for full “amnesty” and the complete lifting of U.S. sanctions on members of his regime.
For years, critics have accused Maduro and his inner circle of looting Venezuela’s treasury while the population suffered shortages of food, medicine, and basic services.
Once the wealthiest nation in South America thanks to its massive oil reserves, Venezuela has seen millions of its citizens flee in search of survival.
The phone call, therefore, appears less like the beginning of a friendly new chapter and more like an end-game negotiation. Maduro is clearly hoping that personal contact with President Trump might buy him time or concessions.
From the American side, the message remains consistent: a man indicted for flooding U.S. streets with cocaine and destroying his own country cannot expect to remain in power indefinitely.
Whether Maduro chooses a quiet exit or forces a harder confrontation, the Venezuelan citizens—and the region as a whole—will be watching closely to see how this long-running crisis finally ends.
