Peace or war: what will unfold in the Caribbean?
With a massive US military deployment in the Caribbean, the Donald J. Trump administration has unveiled two opposed initiatives related to the socialist ‘Bolivarian’ Republic of Venezuela.
On the one hand, President Trump has announced that the path of negotiations with Venezuela may still be open.
At the same time, State Secretary Marco Rubio announced that the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ – allegedly headed by Maduro – is to be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Reuters reported:
“President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States may open talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean.
It was one of the first signs of a possible path toward defusing an increasingly tense situation in the region as the U.S. wages a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
‘We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out’, Trump told reporters on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Florida, before getting on a flight back to Washington. ‘They would like to talk’.”
“We MAY have “some discussions” with Maduro. We’ll see how it turns out”
— Trump on possible talks with Venezuela’s Maduro
PS: Trump escalated to then move in for a deal? His classic move pic.twitter.com/9LCJvu6FfR
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) November 17, 2025
At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the ‘Cartel de los Soles’, linked to Maduro and Venezuela’s top leadership, will be labeled as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Fox News reported:
“In a statement, Rubio confirmed the U.S. will formally designate the cartel as an FTO later this month.
The designation, which is to take effect Nov. 24, targets the criminal network allegedly led by Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his regime.
According to the State Department, ‘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’.
‘Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government’, the statement read. ‘The Cartel de los Soles, in coordination with other terrorist organizations including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence across our hemisphere and for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe’.”
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