White House rejects talks offer from Maduro

Caracas (AFP) — The White House on Monday dismissed a request by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for talks with counterpart Donald Trump to de-escalate tensions between the two arch-foes.

The brush-off came as two Venezuelan opposition leaders backed a United States naval build-up near the South American country, calling it critical for the restoration of democracy.

Trump has dispatched eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean in an anti-drug operation Venezuela fears could be the preamble to an invasion.

US forces have destroyed at least three suspected Venezuelan drug boats in recent weeks, killing over a dozen people.

On Sunday, the Venezuelan government released a letter that leftist Maduro had sent to Trump.

In the missive, Maduro — whose July 2024 reelection was rejected as fraudulent by Venezuela’s opposition and much of the international community — rejected as “absolutely false” US allegations that he leads a drug cartel and urged Trump to “keep the peace.”

Reacting on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Maduro’s letter contained “a lot of lies.”

She added the Trump administration’s position on Venezuela “has not changed” and it viewed the regime as “illegitimate.”

The US deployment is the biggest in the Caribbean in years.

Maduro has accused Trump — who during his first term tried unsuccessfully to expedite the Venezuelan president’s ouster — of trying to affect regime change.