OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:16 AM – Monday, November 17, 2025
President Donald Trump has indicated openness to discussions with socialist Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — as the United States continues its military buildup in the Caribbean.
While speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of boarding Air Force One. He indicated openness to diplomatic engagement with the Venezuelan president amid heightened U.S. military deployments in the Caribbean, including the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and ongoing strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels linked to Venezuelan cartels.
President Trump left the door open for diplomacy, while also keeping the option of military force on the table.
In addition, the GOP Commander-in-Chief noted that his administration is set to designate the “Cartel de los Soles” as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), explaining that the U.S. believes it is run by Maduro—an action that allows the United States to target his assets or infrastructure legally.
The U.S. State Department stated it “intends to designate Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), effective November 24, 2025.” This action, under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, enables the U.S. to use military force against the group’s assets without a formal declaration of war, including targeting infrastructure linked to drug trafficking or terrorism.
“It allows us to do that,” Trump stated, referencing the Venezuelan FTO designation. “But we haven’t said we’re going to do that…we may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk.”
President Trump went on to say that his administration is in constant communication with Congress in relation to potential Venezuelan strikes while adding that he does not “have to get their approval.”
“We like to keep Congress involved,” the president continued. “I mean, we’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country.”
“We have great support because it’s all about drugs. Well, in Venezuela’s case, it’s about drugs, and it’s also about thousands, hundreds of thousands of people that they’ve released into our country.”
“The only thing I don’t want them to do is leak information that’s very important and confidential,” Trump continued. “And they put our military at risk or whoever is doing, you know, CIA, military, etc.”
However, President Trump didn’t provide further details about the potential discussions with Maduro, simply concluding: “Venezuela would like to talk.”
The president previously stated in October that Maduro has “offered everything” to ease tensions because “he doesn’t want to f*** around with the United States.”
According to The Washington Post, Vice President JD Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller have been gameplanning potential strikes against Venezuela in recent days as the administration continues to signal that land strikes may be imminent.
The president has been reportedly briefed on several options for potential military action against Venezuela by Caine and Hegseth on Friday, according to an NBC News report citing a senior White House official. Most recently, Hegseth directed the latest strike against an alleged drug boat in the region on Saturday, marking the 21st official strike against boats in which the administration maintains are carrying illicit narcotics.
“On Nov.15, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization,” the U.S. Southern Command wrote in an X post on Sunday.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. Three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed. The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific and was struck in international waters,” the post concluded, alongside unclassified video footage of the strike.
President Trump has yet to sign off on military action, though he has approved covert CIA actions and the FTO designation, but these fall short of overt military strikes. However, the recent buildup of warships and other military assets in the Caribbean provides the president with the option to strike if he ultimately chooses to do so.
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