The White House has formally rejected a call from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to open direct talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, as diplomatic tensions between Washington and Caracas continue to escalate.
Maduro’s request which came in the form of a letter delivered over the weekend, proposed a dialogue aimed at de-escalation. He denied U.S. accusations of drug-trafficking leadership, calling them false, and urged that the two nations engage in a “truth-based” conversation to overcome what he described as misinformation.
The White House, speaking through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, dismissed Maduro’s letter as containing “a lot of lies,” and reaffirmed its long-standing stance that the Maduro regime is “illegitimate.”
The refusal to engage comes as U.S. forces have carried out military actions in the Caribbean in recent weeks—most notably operations targeting vessels the U.S. says were linked to drug trafficking allegedly involving Venezuela. Venezuela has denied many of those accusations, calling them politically motivated.
The Trump administration has also deployed naval forces—eight warships and a submarine—to the southern Caribbean, an escalation in show of force that Venezuela’s government views as possibly preparatory to further action.
Some U.S. supporters inside Venezuela have praised the show of force, saying it’s critical to restoring democracy there. Meanwhile, Maduro has positioned his overture as an attempt to “defend the truth of Venezuela,” pledging to continue reaching out despite the rejection.
