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Donald Trump reportedly had a blunt message for Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro: leave power – and your country – immediately.
Sources told the Miami Herald the US president had a phone call with his South American counterpart, who is the focus of a four-month pressure campaign in which Trump has ordered a major naval deployment off Venezuela’s northern coast.
“You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now,” Trump reportedly said, offering safe passage for Maduro, his wife and his son “only if he agreed to resign right away”.
However, Venezuela’s president reportedly refused to step down immediately and allegedly made a series of counter-demands, including worldwide immunity from prosecution and being allowed to cede political control but keep control of the armed forces.
It’s the latest ratcheting up of tensions between the two nations. Trump on Monday reportedly met with his top national security advisers to discuss Venezuela, though details of that meeting were not known.
Trump reportedly gave Maduro ultimatum to relinquish power
Donald Trump reportedly gave Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power immediately during their recent call – but Venezuela’s authoritarian leader declined, demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and allies.
On Sunday, Trump confirmed the call had taken place, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly, it was a phone call.”
Neither the US nor Venezuelan government have offered further details of the topics discussed during the highly unusual conversation, which is thought to have happened on 21 November.
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FBI has become ‘internally paralyzed by fear’, report reveals
The FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts.
Trump says he has ‘no idea’ what part of him was scanned in MRI
Donald Trump said he will release the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan conducted during his surprise “semiannual physical” in October – but was unable to tell reporters what part of his body was under investigation.
The oldest-ever US president faced questions over the procedure on Air Force One as he traveled back to Washington DC on Sunday night after a Thanksgiving break in Florida. Asked if he would make public the outcome of the scan, Trump said: “If you want to have it released, I’ll release it.”
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 30 November 2025.
