Trump had a phone conversation with Maduro. What the media is writing

US President Donald Trump said that he had spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro a month ago. He also said that his statement about the closure of Venezuelan airspace should not be given much importance. Against this background, the United States wants to investigate attacks on ships that the White House attributes to Venezuelan drug traffickers. What the world media is writing about the escalation around Venezuela is in the Izvestia digest.

The Guardian: Trump reported on the conversation with Maduro

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he recently spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but did not provide details of what the two leaders discussed. The New York Times was the first to report that Trump had spoken with Maduro in early November and discussed a possible meeting between them in the United States. Information about the phone call appeared against the background of how Trump continues to use bellicose rhetoric against Venezuela, while simultaneously considering the possibility of diplomacy.

Maduro and senior members of his administration did not comment on the call. On November 30, responding to a question about him, the chairman of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguez, said that the call was not the subject of his press conference, at which he announced an investigation by parliamentarians into attacks on American ships in the Caribbean Sea.

Bloomberg: Trump downplayed his statement about the closure of Venezuelan airspace

Trump said on Sunday that people should not attach too much importance to a social media post in which he stated that Venezuela's airspace should be considered closed. His post from Saturday morning, addressed to airlines and "drug traffickers," increased concern in the region about possible US strikes on Venezuelan territory.

Trump also downplayed Republican lawmakers' concerns about a potentially illegal fatal strike on a damaged ship in the Caribbean. The Ministry of Defense has faced a growing number of questions after reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered strikes on ships, demanding that all on board die as a result of these strikes. This led to a second impact on the damaged hull of the vessel on September 2, which resulted in the death of two people who were injured as a result of the first impact.

Associated Press: US lawmakers want to investigate attacks on ships in the Caribbean

U.S. lawmakers from both parties have said they support an investigation into military strikes on ships suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, citing a published report that Hegseth verbally ordered the destruction of all crew members during the September 2 attack. Republicans were skeptical of the report, but they said the attack on survivors of the initial missile strike raises serious legal concerns.

There are concerns in Congress about attacks on ships that the Trump administration claims are carrying drugs, but the allegations of the September 2 attack "completely go beyond what was discussed with Congress, and an investigation is currently underway." Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and its leading Democrat, Jack Reed, said in a joint statement that the committee "will conduct thorough oversight to determine the facts surrounding these circumstances."

Al Jazeera: Venezuela urges OPEC to counter U.S. threats

Maduro called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to help Venezuela counter "growing and illegal threats" from the United States. In a letter to cartel members, he accused Washington of trying to "seize" Venezuela's largest oil reserves in the world. Maduro also "officially condemned" the "use of deadly military force against the territory, people and institutions of the country" both to OPEC and to the broader group of OPEC+ countries.

Although Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels as of 2023, it exported only $4.05 billion worth of crude oil in 2023, much less than other major oil producing countries. Along with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, this Latin American country became one of the founders of OPEC in 1960, and its members collaborated to control oil supplies and influence oil prices in the following decades.

Deck consequences: what might an armed conflict between the United States and Venezuela look like?

The United States has concentrated an aircraft carrier armada off the coast of the Latin American country

Reuters: how can the Venezuelan army react to the US attack

According to six sources familiar with Venezuela's military capabilities, the U.S. army is significantly superior to the Venezuelan army, which is weakened by a lack of training, low wages and worn-out equipment. Sources say that desertion, which is already occurring in many units, may become more frequent in the event of a US military attack. The main experience of the Venezuelan troops in recent years has been facing unarmed civilians during street protests.

The second strategy, called "anarchization" and which officials do not recognize, involves the use of special services and armed supporters of the ruling party to create unrest in the capital Caracas and turn Venezuela into an ungovernable country.