US President Donald Trump has called off US diplomatic engagement with Venezuela, people familiar with the move have said, a decision that favours Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s more hardline approach and may lead to further military escalation.
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Trump told Richard Grenell, a long-time aide who had been leading diplomacy with Venezuela, that he should stop pursuing a deal with Nicolas Maduro’s administration, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Grenell had been speaking to Venezuelan officials every few days.
The decision was reported earlier by The New York Times. It marks a victory for Rubio, who had waged a turf war with Grenell and favours a more hardline approach to the Maduro government. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has already ordered multiple strikes on drug trafficking vessels at sea and has recently suggested he could order the US military to escalate those attacks by hitting cartel infrastructure on land – a move that may also involve risky strikes on Venezuelan military targets.
Last week, the White House declared that the US was in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels flooding the country with illegal drugs like fentanyl.
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