Overview
- Caracas published the full Sept. 6 letter in which Nicolás Maduro proposes direct talks via U.S. envoy Richard Grenell and counters narcotrafficking accusations with cited UN data and figures.
- White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed receipt, called the letter full of lies, and said policy toward Venezuela is unchanged after President Trump’s earlier “we’ll see” remark.
- U.S. forces keep a reinforced posture in the southern Caribbean, with eight ships deployed and at least four fast boats destroyed in interdictions the administration describes as counternarcotics.
- Maduro portrays the U.S. buildup as a military threat and has pushed militia training and reservist mobilization, while Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López refers to an “undeclared war.”
- Opposition leaders Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado backed the U.S. clampdown, whereas Henrique Capriles opposed any foreign military intervention, underscoring divisions.