Trump orders end to efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela

The U.S. President, Donald Trump, ordered an end to all efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, The New York Times (NYT) reported this Monday, citing officials familiar with the matter.

According to newspaper sources, this creates the conditions for a possible military escalation. The newspaper details that during a meeting with senior military leaders on Thursday, Trump called special presidential envoy Richard Grenell, who had been leading negotiations with President Nicolás Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials, and ordered him to halt all diplomatic approaches, including his talks with the leader of the Latin American country.

Meanwhile, according to the NYT, the Trump Administration has drawn up a variety of military plans to escalate the conflict, because it has concluded that Grenell’s efforts were useless and created confusion.

U.S. Aggression in the Caribbean
Washington is already carrying out military actions and bombings in waters near Venezuelan territory, with the argument —unsupported by evidence— of combating drug cartels. Caracas has called such actions “aggression” and has questioned the real reason for the operations.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his country attacked another boat in the Caribbean, which was allegedly used for drug trafficking. In total, the U.S. has perpetrated at least four attacks of this type, causing the death of no less than 21 people. In addition, last August, he deployed a large military contingent in the area.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro maintains that his country is the victim of a “multiform war” orchestrated from the U.S. The Venezuelan State, he has reiterated, is being subjected to an “armed aggression to impose a regime change” and a “puppet” government, in order to “steal its oil, gas, gold and all natural resources”.

Many world and regional leaders have also considered that there is no evidence to support the US accusation against the president.