Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro leads a demonstration Monday at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas. (Prensa Presidencial)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, December 2, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – An alleged Donald Trump ultimatum giving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro one week to flee Venezuela along with his family passed without major incident Friday.
A report from Reuters claimed that Trump issued the ultimatum after rejecting a series of alleged demands made by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for his early exit from office that included the lifting of US sanctions, the shutdown of a prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a transitional government led by Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has previously rejected reports that suggested ongoing negotiations with the United States could involve Maduro stepping down. Rodríguez had likewise labeled a prior report of a proposal for Maduro to step down as “fake” and a “psychological warfare” campaign. Caracas did not comment on the latest allegations.
The brief phone call on November 21, which lasted a mere 15 minutes, reportedly included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well.
After the reported deadline expired, Trump attempted to unilaterally declare that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety,” leading to a sharp rebuke by Caracas, which condemned Washington’s “colonialist threats.”
The unilateral shutdown effort ultimately did not further affect air travel to and within Venezuela, save for the airlines that had already suspended service following an earlier Note to Airmen (NOTAM) warning from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urging caution in Venezuela’s Flight Information Region (FIR). That memo led most international airlines servicing Venezuela to suspend their flights. The Maduro government permanently withdrew the companies’ clearance to operate in Venezuela in response.
Trump’s airspace claims led Caracas to foresee an end to regular deportation flights from the US to Venezuela. However, the Venezuelan government said it received a request from the US to restart repatriation flights Tuesday, which was subsequently authorized.
The reportedly failed diplomatic pressure comes as the Trump White House comes under heavy scrutiny over its strikes in the Caribbean after the Washington Post revealed that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the military to kill all crew members of the first strike on September 2; targeting shipwrecked survivors is widely considered a war crime.
The Secretary of War appeared to pin the blame for the order of the second strike on Admiral Mitch Bradley, maintaining that he “made the correct decision.” Hegseth’s comments were interpreted as an effort to transfer responsibility for the potential war crime.
UN experts have already questioned US strikes on boats in Caribbean and Pacific waters, calling them “extrajudicial executions.”
Since September, the US has built up its forces in the region, including the mobilization of the Gerard Ford Carrier Fleet, and has carried out deadly strikes on boats that the administration claims are tied to drug trafficking. Caracas maintains that the aggression by Washington is instead motivated by a desire for regime change in order to secure access to Venezuela’s natural resources.
The White House has repeatedly hinted at further escalation, suggesting the US would begin strikes on land.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” said Trump at the final cabinet meeting of the year Tuesday.
While the administration maintains the strikes in international waters are legal, US lawmakers have called for investigations. Representatives Jim McGovern, Thomas Massie, and Joaquin Castro introduced Tuesday a War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives to block the Trump administration from engaging in hostilities in or against Venezuela without congressional authorization. Two previous legislative efforts, including one specifically barring strikes inside Venezuelan territory, were narrowly defeated in the US Senate.
Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in a post on social media that the US president has authorization to conduct military action in this scenario.
The Venezuelan National Assembly has announced that it will conduct its own investigation into the US’ lethal operations and provide support for relatives of Venezuelan victims.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
