The Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his “illegal warmongering” and begin “serious talks” with his administration as mystery continued to surround a purported pre-Christmas CIA airstrike on the South American country. Maduro rejected US claims justifying Trump’s campaign that he was the head of a “narco-terrorist” crime organisation flooding the US with drugs. “I believe that we need to set all this aside and start serious talks. Asked what impact Trump’s pressure campaign was having on his physical and emotional state, however, Maduro struck a nonchalant tone. Maduro said he had not spoken to Trump since a 10-minute conversation on 21 November, which he called cordial and respectful.

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2026 21:04 UTC