Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro vowed “absolute loyalty” to his people at a massive Caracas rally on Monday, rejecting any “slave’s peace” or colonial submission as US military pressure mounts.
Addressing thousands waving Venezuelan flags outside the Miraflores Palace, Maduro declared: “We want peace with sovereignty, equality and freedom. No slave’s peace, no colonial peace! Colony, never! Slaves, never!”
The rally came hours after Trump met his national security team at the White House to discuss “next steps” on Venezuela.
US escalation: Strikes and sanctions
The Trump administration has intensified pressure with a Caribbean military build-up it calls an anti-drug campaign. Caracas accuses Washington of plotting regime change to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Since September 2025, US strikes have targeted 21 boats, killing at least 83 people. Trump claims they carried “narco-terrorists” from the Cartel de los Soles – which he labels a Maduro-led terrorist organisation – and alleges Venezuela exports prisoners, including from mental facilities, to the US.
Venezuela denies all charges and calls the strikes “illegal murders”. Maduro accused Trump of “psychological terrorism” after 22 weeks of aggression.
Trump-Maduro phone call details
Trump confirmed that on Sunday 21 November he spoke with Maduro but gave no details, saying it went “neither well nor badly”.
Reuters reported, citing four sources, that Trump offered Maduro safe passage out of Venezuela in exchange for full legal amnesty for him and his family, lifting all US sanctions, and dropping the ICC case.
Maduro agreed to leave if amnesty covered over 100 officials accused of human rights abuses, drug trafficking or corruption. Trump rejected most demands but gave a one-week deadline, expiring Friday.
That prompted Trump’s Saturday declaration closing Venezuelan airspace “in its entirety” to airlines, pilots, drug dealers and traffickers.
Border fears and military mobilisation
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reported from the Colombia-Venezuela border that Venezuelans crossing the Simon Bolivar Bridge express “extreme concern” over potential US strikes.
Maduro’s government deploys troops nationwide, protecting Caracas highways to the airport and coast. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López showcased aerial defenses and fighter jets.
Experts say Venezuela’s military cannot match the US, so Caracas focuses on irregular tactics: sabotage, criminal groups, government supporters and guerrillas to sow chaos.
Many Venezuelans who oppose Maduro fear violence would engulf the country if he falls.
International context
The US refuses to recognise Maduro, in power since 2013 and “re-elected” last year in a vote Western governments called fraudulent. The opposition claims a two-to-one victory.
US courts indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges in 2020, offering a $15 million bounty.
Maduro insists Tren de Aragua – which the US links to him – was dismantled in a 2023 prison raid.
Source: AlJazeera
Featured photos: Reuters
Also read: US-Venezuela crisis: Trump warships & CIA spark invasion fears
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