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Trump Issued Maduro an Ultimatum on the Spot Before Closing Venezuela’s Airspace [WATCH]

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December 1, 2025
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Trump Issued Maduro an Ultimatum on the Spot Before Closing Venezuela’s Airspace [WATCH]

President Donald Trump delivered a warning to Nicolás Maduro to leave Venezuela immediately in the hours before U.S. officials declared the country’s airspace closed, according to a report from the Miami Herald.

The newspaper reported that the message was conveyed in a phone call between Washington and Caracas and included an offer of evacuation for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son.

The offer was conditioned on Maduro agreeing to resign during the call.

U.S. officials told the outlet the discussion broke down shortly after it began.

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A source said the disagreement centered on demands from Maduro.

According to the report, the first demand involved “global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected.”

The source also told the newspaper that Maduro’s side 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.”

The final sticking point involved timing, as the United States insisted on immediate resignation while Caracas refused.

Following the collapse of the conversation, Trump announced Saturday that Venezuelan airspace would be considered “closed in its entirety.”

The Herald reported that Venezuelan officials attempted to schedule another call with Washington but did not receive a response.

The developments have drawn attention from regional analysts, including former Venezuelan diplomat Vanessa Neumann.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Neumann said the Maduro government may now face its most significant challenge so far.

“I think the operations will start imminently,” she said.

Neumann added that the airspace decision served as a signal.

“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,” she said.

Neumann said U.S. planning has identified potential targets in advance.

“The targets have been identified through covert operations over the last several years by people on the ground,” she said.

“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.”

On Sunday, reporters traveling with the president aboard Air Force One asked whether the airspace announcement suggested that a strike on Venezuela was imminent.

Trump responded by saying not to “read anything into” the declaration.

Neumann said the Maduro government faces weaknesses within its own military.

“Maduro also doesn’t have that many options, and his military is very weak,” she said.

She added that going after individuals in the regime would require prioritization.

“You can’t go after 30 people simultaneously, who are spread all around, but certainly high on the list would be Maduro himself.”

Neumann said the country’s armed forces have deteriorated significantly.

“Their material is extremely old, decayed, and has not been serviced,” she said.

She noted that equipment from Russia and the United States remains in poor condition.

“They’ve got junk from the Russians. The stuff they originally had from the Americans is decades old and has not been serviced.”

Ahead of the airspace announcement, U.S. officials designated the cartel allegedly connected to elements of the Venezuelan government, the Cartel de los Soles, as a foreign terrorist organization.

Neumann said the group integrated narcotics operations into the country’s national oil company before sanctions took effect.

“This cartel turned Venezuela’s main oil company into a narcotics trafficking money laundering operation, using the company’s access to international finance, until it was sanctioned,” she said.

Neumann said the cartel used military aircraft to transport cocaine and retaliated against internal opposition.

“Jet pilots were making a lot of money off that, and they’ve tortured people. They target people, anybody who tell on them, they’re disappeared,” she said.

She added that the organization is now one of the primary narcotics suppliers to the United States and Europe.

In September, the European Parliament voted in favor of designating the cartel as a terrorist organization.

Neumann said the group has supported other entities abroad.

“The Cartel de Los Soles is also a key collaborator and financier of Hezbollah and some of the drug money has been used to fund terrorist attacks that have killed American citizens, even in the Middle East,” she said.

Neumann said the United States has expanded military and intelligence efforts targeting networks linked to Venezuela.

“The decision is President Trump’s because when he says, ‘Go’, we go. And nobody knows when he’ll say that,” she said.

Neumann added that assets have been positioned in the region.

“He has mobilized so many assets down there now. But what President Trump is doing now is long overdue.”

She cited geopolitical conditions affecting Maduro’s allies.

“Because even Maduro’s biggest backers, Russia and Iran, are both on the back foot, and China will not go that far in backing Maduro as it has bigger and broader interests throughout the region,” she said.

Neumann added that domestic conditions also pose risks for the regime. “Maduro is also weakened because his partners are weakened and have their own issues to deal with,” she said.

Neumann identified members of Maduro’s government who could be targeted.

Those individuals include Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace, and Alexander Granko Arteaga, who oversees the country’s counter-intelligence agency, the DGCIM.

Neumann said Granko’s role within the military structure has influenced the stability of the regime.

“One of the reasons Granko is an important figure is that he’s one of the reasons why they haven’t capitulated and why there has not been a military uprising,” she said.

She said Venezuelans exhausted peaceful options. “It’s because of the brutality of the counter-intelligence that they do to their own military, and hundreds of soldiers are tortured,” she said.

“That said, the Venezuelan people have made it clear that they wanted Maduro out and fought democratically but lost.”

“They voted in elections, protested peacefully, lobbied for sanctions, and lobbied for international support,” Neumann said.



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