Audio: Trump confirms call with Venezuelan president amid rising tension

President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he recently had a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The confirmation of the phone call comes after the president warned that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety.” During a Sunday press gaggle on Air Force One, Trump was asked whether his warning regarding …
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President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he recently had a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The confirmation of the phone call comes after the president warned that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety.”

During a Sunday press gaggle on Air Force One, Trump was asked whether his warning regarding Venezuela’s airspace was a signal of an “imminent” airstrike. In response, Trump said, “Don’t read anything into it.” Asked if he had a phone call with Maduro, Trump told reporters, “I don’t want to comment on it; the answer is yes.”

While Trump confirmed that he recently had a phone call with the Venezuelan president, he refused to elaborate on the conversation he had with Maduro. “I wouldn’t say it went well, or badly,” Trump stated. “It was a phone call.”

Trump confirms he had a phone call with Maduro

"I wouldn't say it went well, or badly. It was — a phone call."#Trump #NicolasMaduro #PNC pic.twitter.com/l0vz5zkoHQ
— People's news Channel (@peoplesnews2024) December 1, 2025

The New York Times reported that Trump’s phone call with Maduro took place sometime toward the end of the week of November 16. According to The Miami Herald, sources claimed that Trump gave Maduro and his top allies an opportunity during the phone call to immediately leave Venezuela and allow the country to return to a democratically elected government.

The Miami Herald reported that sources told the outlet Maduro was offered safe passage for himself, his wife, and his son if he immediately resigned from his position as president.

“First, Maduro asked for global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected,” one source told The Miami Herald. “Second, they asked to retain control of the armed forces — similar to what happened in Nicaragua in ’91 with Violeta Chamorro. In return, they would allow free elections.”

READ MORE: Videos: Trump warns Venezuela dictator’s days in power are ‘numbered’

The anonymous source told The Miami Herald that the Trump administration rejected Maduro’s proposals. Additionally, the source claimed that Maduro refused to agree to the Trump administration’s proposal that Maduro resign immediately.

On Saturday, Trump issued a statement on Truth Social, saying, “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

While Trump told reporters not to “read anything” into his warning, Vanessa Neumann, a former Venezuelan diplomat, told Fox News that she believes “operations will start imminently” in Venezuela.

“The clearing of the airspace is an indication and a very clear public warning that missiles might be coming to take out command and control infrastructure or retaliatory infrastructure,” Neumann stated. “This will not be like breaking a jar into a thousand pieces, this is where you can lift the concentration of power, and it’s easier to manage.”

“The targets have been identified through covert operations over the last several years by people on the ground,” Neumann added. “So they’re well-mapped. This is a capture-or-kill scenario, but there’s a limit to how many people you can remove quickly.”