President Trump reportedly issued Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a deadline of last Friday to of his own volition step down as president and accomplish a peaceful transition of power, or else face possible direct military action.
The New York Post is freshly reporting that the White House has offered that Maduro could be exiled to Qatar, where he would live out his days in luxury in one of the world’s wealthiest countries.
“A senior Trump administration source said Secretary of State Marco Rubio has floated allowing Maduro, 63, to relocate to Qatar as the gas-rich emirate helps mediate the conflict,” NY Post writes Wednesday. “Three current and two former administration officials described the scenario as plausible.”
A source close to the administration described that “Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE love to do stuff like this. It helps build chits with the US.” The person further said, “All three compete against each other — in the region and for the ultimate affection of the US.”
So far Maduro has resisted Trump’s call to immediately step down, and the last Friday deadline came and went. If it were to suddenly happen – and by looks of it Maduro doesn’t seem prepared to go anywhere – this scenario would quickly lead to lower oil prices as Washington’s crude embargo would be dropped and US firms move to pump oil out of the Latin American country, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
As for the supposed exile to Qatar plan, there’s been no immediately forthcoming confirmation from the White House that this is accurate, but Maduro would have to go somewhere after all.
The large military presence in the southern Caribbean has persisted for months at this point, and the clock is ticking, especially given President Trump’s Tuesday remarks of land attacks possibly beginning “very soon”. He said as follows:
President Trump said Tuesday his administration could attack accused drug traffickers who traverse Latin America by land “very soon,” which would mark an escalation in the U.S. military’s campaign of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting when asked about the administration’s strikes at sea. “You know, the land is much easier … And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’re going to start that very soon, too.”
It’s unknown whether such strikes would just be limited to known cartel and trafficking locations and routes, or whether government buildings or military bases could be hit.
What’s quite surprising for me is the silence of Brazil, Qatar, and Turkey, the countries said to have brokered the Trump–Maduro call. They usually love to publicize their peace efforts. But when it comes to Venezuela, they’re barely saying a word. Why are they so silent? pic.twitter.com/hv32yIDXT2
— Imdat Oner (@imdat_oner) December 2, 2025
The administration has already effectively labeled the whole government a ‘narco-terror’ organization, with its dubious and sweeping “Cartel of the Suns” recent terror designation. “Based in Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary,” the mid-November official designation indicated. “Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government.”
Could American military action soon commence in Venezuela? Will Maduro find himself in a luxury high-rise in Qatar by month’s end?
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