The Trump Administration fears that the Cuban regime will assassinate Maduro if he tries to flee Venezuela
Since the arrival of Hugo Chávez to the presidency, Venezuela has been Havana's main economic mainstay and one of the main reasons why the communist tyranny ruling the Caribbean island remains in power.
Maduro during an event in Caracas/ Federico Parra
The Axios media outlet revealed Monday that officials of Donald Trump claimed that the president wants Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to voluntarily leave power without the United States having to use military force, but that within his team, there are fears that the regime in Cuba may decide to execute him through its advisers in Venezuela if Maduro ends up resigning.
According to what was published by the media, the Republican administration fears that this scenario may occur, given how crucial Venezuela's socialist dictatorship is for the stability of the Castro regime in power. Since the arrival of Hugo Chávez to the presidency in 1999, Venezuela has been Havana's main economic mainstay and one of the main reasons why the communist tyranny that rules the Caribbean island is maintained despite the numerous crises it has been experiencing throughout these last decades.
Trump plans to speak directly with Maduro
Elsewhere in its article, Axios revealed that Trump has reportedly told his closest advisers that he plans to speak directly with Maduro, despite his administration's designation of him as the leader of a terrorist organization. According to several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Trump would have assumed this position because at this instant his government has no plans to assassinate or capture Maduro, emphasizing that this could change at any instant. "Nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch him—at this point. I wouldn't say never, but that's not the plan right now. In the meantime, we're going to blow up boats shipping drugs. We're going to stop the drug trafficking," one official said.
The media outlet also explained that currently, no date has been put forward for the possible call between Trump and Maduro, with several officials assuring that no one knows what the Republican leader plans to say to the socialist dictator. "Maduro is a narcoterrorist. Always lead with that word if you want to represent the president's thinking. The diplomats tell us that Maduro is going to say, 'Trust me. I'll have new elections in three years. You can come and have all the oil. I'll stop sending it to Russia.' He has said many things like that over many years, and he never keeps his promises. So the diplomats tell us we should be suspicious," one of the officials said.
Trump, not Rubio, is the main driver of the hard line on Venezuela
According to a member of the Republican administration quoted by the media outlet, the hard-line policy comes directly from the president. "The hawk in Venezuela is Donald Trump, followed by [White House Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller, followed by Marco Rubio," he said.
Axios even noted that, within the White House, there are many voices assuring that Rubio holds both strategic positions precisely because he faithfully represents the president's foreign policy priorities toward Venezuela.
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