US President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he recently had a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart. Trump commented on the conversation with President Maduro, which The New York Times was the first to report, saying: "I can't say if it went well or badly." On Saturday, he ordered his government to carry out military maneuvers along the coast. Also on Saturday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham spoke publicly about the possibility of a regime change in Venezuela. In a post on social media platform X, he wrote: "For over a decade, Maduro has controlled a narco-terrorist state that is poisoning America," describing the Venezuelan leader as an "illegitimate president." He continued: "President Trump's steadfast commitment to ending this madness in Venezuela will save countless American lives and give the precious Venezuelan nation a new chance." Senator Graham added: "I hear that Turkey and Iran are lovely this time of year. We told him he could go to Russia or another country." Markwayne Mullin, a senator from Oklahoma, told CNN: "The Venezuelan people said it too, and he said he wants a new leader and he wants to restore Venezuela as a nation." These statements come amid heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela. US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of military forces in the Caribbean Sea and on Saturday declared Venezuela's airspace to be "completely closed" after sending the world's largest aircraft carrier to the region. The Republican billionaire justifies these operations by accusing Caracas of drug trafficking to the United States. Maduro, for his part, denies these accusations, believing that Washington is using them as a pretext to oust him and seize the country's oil reserves. The New York Times reported that Trump and Maduro recently discussed a possible meeting in the US over the phone, while The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the conversation also covered the terms of an amnesty in case Maduro steps down. Since September, US forces have targeted more than 20 vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 83 deaths. The United States offered Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro the chance to "leave for Russia" or another country, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said on Sunday, as Washington deploys military forces off the coast of this Latin American nation. The Oklahoma senator told CNN: "By the way, we gave Maduro an opportunity to leave."
