“Things can be done the hard way”

Trump defended his decision to communicate with Maduro when a reporter aboard Air Force One questioned him about why he should talk to the Chavista leader if he has been denounced as the alleged leader of a foreign terrorist organization, the Cartel of the Suns: “I could talk to him, we’ll see”responded the US president, according to the agency. Efe.

Trump, who was traveling to his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to spend Thanksgiving, also blamed Maduro for “sending” millions of people to the United States. “If we can save lives, if we can do things the right way, that’s fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that would be fine too“, he stated ambiguously, revealing that the teams of both leaders are in communication.

Trump’s statements come in the midst of a massive cancellation of flights and operations of international airlines in Venezuela due to the United States military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, justified by the need to combat drug trafficking. However, Caracas believes that this is an attempted invasion.

This week, various flight tracking platforms identified several US military aircraft near the Venezuelan coast over the Caribbean, between Venezuela and Curacao. Among the aircraft located were a B-52 bomber, F/A-18 fighters and an early warning aircraft.

In recent weeks, Trump has held constant meetings with Pentagon authorities to evaluate possible options for action regarding Venezuela. An increase in tensions that occurs after having started a military campaign in international waters with which the US has killed more than 80 people and destroyed more than twenty boats supposedly linked to drug trafficking.

Chavismo took to the streets again this Tuesday to reiterate its support for the Maduro Government and repudiate the US military deployment. Thousands of people participated in a mobilization in Caracas calling for peace and opposing a “foreign invasion”.

Maduro, who closed the march with a speech, He asked the country to demand “ten times more” to defend the territory in a situation that he described as “decisive for the existence of the Republic”, in which, he said, it is “forbidden to fail.”

For the second consecutive day, the president did not comment on the designation by the US State Department of the Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist group, which the Trump Administration assures that Maduro leads along with senior officials of the Army and the Venezuelan Government. Caracas has indicated that it is an “invention.”

Maduro, in recent weeks, has shown himself willing to have a “face-to-face” dialogue with his American counterpart and has even taken to including small parts in English in his speeches in what appears to be an attempt to reach Washington and the American public more directly.