Overview

• Venezuela released a Sept. 6 letter in which Nicolás Maduro denied U.S. narcotics allegations, cited U.N. data, and offered direct talks through U.S. envoy Richard Grenell.
• President Trump initially declined to confirm receipt of the letter, telling reporters, “We’ll see what happens with Venezuela.”
• On Monday, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the White House received the letter, said it contained “many lies,” and reiterated that Washington’s stance on Venezuela remains the same.
• U.S. counter‑narcotics operations in the southern Caribbean continue, with officials reporting at least four fast boats destroyed near Venezuelan waters and more than a dozen fatalities.
• Grenell remains identified as a working channel on repatriations and detainee issues, while prominent Venezuelan opposition figures voiced support for the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean.