Trump signals openness to talks with Maduro despite ‘terrorism’ designation

WASHINGTON (AA) — US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is still open to speaking with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, even after Washington formally designated him as the leader of a foreign terrorist organization.

“We’ll see, but we’re discussing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. Asked why he remains willing to engage Maduro despite the designation, he replied: “If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way, that’s fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that’s fine too.”

Pressed on his goals for any potential talks, Trump suggested the objective is clear. “You should probably know what the goal is,” he said.

He accused Venezuela of sending millions of people to the US and claimed the country has been “the biggest abuser” among those allegedly transferring criminals. “They sent in the drug dealers, the drug lords…the jailbirds. They opened their jails and prisons and dumped them into the United States, and we’re not happy about it,” he added.

The US on Monday designated the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, escalating tensions already heightened by Trump’s August order deploying US forces in the Caribbean to target drug cartels and disrupt trafficking routes Washington links to Maduro.

Caracas, however, says the real objective is regime change.

Since early September, the US military has carried out 21 strikes on vessels it said were carrying drugs, killing 83 people. Trump has also signaled that he may expand operations to strike alleged drug-trafficking targets inside Venezuela.