President Trump issued a blunt ultimatum to Nicolás Maduro as Airspace Closure tensions rose over Venezuela. According to reporting from the Miami Herald the President offered Maduro and his family safe evacuation if he agreed to resign immediately, but Caracas stalled. The Airspace Closure now signals a significant escalation as U.S. officials warn that military operations could begin soon.
Sources told the Miami Herald that the talks broke down after Maduro demanded “global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed, and that was rejected.” Maduro also sought to “retain control of the armed forces,” a condition Washington refused. The final sticking point was timing, as the U.S. insisted on an immediate resignation before any guarantees.
President Trump announced that Venezuelan airspace would be considered “closed in its entirety,” a move experts view as a warning shot. Former Venezuelan diplomat Vanessa Neumann told Fox News Digital, “I think the operations will start imminently,” describing the airspace order as “a very clear public warning that missiles might be coming.” She added, “The targets have been identified through covert operations over the last several years… This is a capture-or-kill scenario.”
Neumann highlighted Maduro’s weakened position, noting Venezuela’s decayed military equipment: “Their material is extremely old, decayed, and has not been serviced.” She also pointed to the designation of the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, stating, “This cartel turned Venezuela’s main oil company into a narcotics trafficking money laundering operation.”
She warned that Maduro’s circle—including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and counter-intelligence chief Alexander Granko Arteaga—could face direct action. “Hundreds of soldiers are tortured,” Neumann said, describing the regime’s internal repression as a key obstacle to rebellion.
