By Tass
Copyright tass
CARACAS, September 22. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proposed to his US counterpart Donald Trump the resumption of direct dialogue to resolve disagreements between the two countries, a letter from the Venezuelan leader addressed to Trump stated.
The document was published on September 21 on the Telegram channel of Venezuela’s Minister of Information and Communication Freddy Nanez.
“During the first months of your second presidential term, we always sought direct communication to address and resolve any issues arising between our two governments,” the president noted. In the letter, he proposed maintaining “direct and frank communication” between Caracas and Washington “to settle any disagreements.”
The Venezuelan president rejected accusations that the country’s top leadership is involved in drug trafficking, calling them “absolutely false” and “the worst of the fake news directed against Venezuela to justify an escalation of armed conflict.” To support his position, Maduro cited data from the UN and other international organizations indicating that Venezuela is not a drug-producing country and is combating illegal drug trafficking on its border with Colombia. “Venezuela is a territory free of drug production and a country unrelated to the drug business, thanks to the efforts of our police and armed forces,” he wrote.
Maduro expressed appreciation for Trump’s efforts to end conflicts in various regions of the world and called on the United States to guarantee the preservation of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean. “I urge you, Mr. President, to maintain peace through dialogue and mutual understanding throughout the [Western] hemisphere,” the head of state concluded, reaffirming Venezuela’s readiness to “defend peace.”
Threats from the United States
According to Trump, Venezuela is taking insufficient measures to combat drug trafficking. Moreover, Washington accused Maduro of belonging to the Cartel de los Soles drug cartel, the existence of which Caracas categorically denies.
According to Reuters, on August 19, three US Navy destroyers were sent to the southern Caribbean, to the coast of Venezuela “to conduct operations against drug cartels.” The United States also deployed a nuclear submarine, a missile cruiser, amphibious ships and 4,500 military personnel to the region. The US army had eliminated 14 members of the Venezuelan drug cartel during an operation in international waters.
