Trump and Maduro reportedly discussed a possible meeting

Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg News on Nov 28, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spoke with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro last week and the two discussed a possible meeting, according to The New York Times, as the U.S. ramps up pressure on Caracas ahead of potential military strikes.

The leaders still have not made plans for such a meeting, the Times reported Friday, adding that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the two presidents on the call. The Times cited multiple people familiar with the matter in its report.

The call comes as the U.S. in recent months has been intensifying pressure on Venezuela, part of a counter-narcotics operation targeting drug trafficking that the Trump administration says is being led by Maduro’s regime. That campaign has seen the U.S. build up its military presence in the region, including with an aircraft carrier and warships, and senior American military officials meeting leaders in the Caribbean.

U.S. forces have been carrying out strikes on alleged drug-running boats, but Trump has also threatened to escalate those attacks to hit targets on Venezuelan land.

“The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon,” Trump said Thursday night.

The Trump administration also recently designated Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. claims that the group is operated by senior military officials and is led by Maduro himself.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the FTO designation gives Washington “a whole bunch of new options” with respect to Venezuela, while declining to specify the course of action his department could take.

Trump has long cast Maduro as an illegitimate leader and sought to isolate him and oust him from power — but the call offers the administration a potential off-ramp before any direct military escalation. Trump had said in the past that he could talk to Maduro even as he has sought to intensify pressure.