Trump engages in talks with Venezuela as Maduro dismisses proposal as a “slave’s peace”

US President Donald Trump convened his top national security officials in the Oval Office on Monday to discuss the escalating situation in Venezuela, as President Nicolas Maduro dismissed US pressure and warned he would not accept a “slave’s peace” amid rising concerns about potential American military action.

The high-level meeting comes as Washington intensifies its campaign against Caracas, deploying a major naval presence in the Caribbean, carrying out strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, and issuing stark alerts to avoid Venezuelan airspace.

Pressed by AFP about the gathering, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump would meet his national security team but declined to reveal whether any final decisions would be made. She refused to rule out the possibility of deploying US troops, saying only that “options at the president’s disposal” remain on the table.

‘Peace of colonies’

Speaking at a mass rally in Caracas, Maduro accused Washington of plotting to remove him from power and insisted Venezuela would not submit to humiliating terms.

“We want peace — but peace with sovereignty, equality, freedom,” he told cheering supporters. “We do not want a slave’s peace or the peace of colonies.”

Tensions have surged since the United States dispatched the world’s largest aircraft carrier and additional warships to the region, and labelled an alleged Maduro-linked drug cartel a terrorist organization. Washington maintains the deployment, launched in September, is aimed at combating narcotics trafficking, while Caracas says regime change is the real objective.

Trump disclosed Sunday that he had spoken with Maduro for the first time since returning to office in January, but offered no details. Reports in US media indicated that the conversation may have touched on a possible meeting and even conditions for amnesty were Maduro to step down. A Republican senator said Washington had offered Maduro safe passage to Russia or another country.

Airstrike questions

The Trump administration is also facing scrutiny over airstrikes on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have killed at least 83 people. One incident in early September reportedly involved a “double-tap” strike on survivors clinging to a burning vessel.

Trump said he would “look into” the allegations, while the White House defended the operation. Leavitt said Admiral Frank Bradley, head of US Special Operations Command, had ordered the follow-up strike within his legal authority to eliminate the threat.