President Donald Trump again said Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro's days ruling the country are numbered, even as he reportedly believes he can wait out Washington's pressure campaign.
Speaking to Politico, Trump was asked if he was willing to say how far he was willing to go to oust Maduro. He said he didn't "want to say that" but that "his days are numbered."
A recent report from The Washington Post claimed that even though Maduro is increasingly fearful of an attack against him or critical infrastructure, his regime is not showing signs of collapsing,
In this context, both sides are seeking to find an off-ramp for the conflict, the outlet added. The phone call between Trump and Maduro was cordial, but Trump reiterated the need for Maduro to step down. There were no ultimatums and a new call is likely to take place in the future.
"Deep down, they're nervous, but they think nothing will happen," one of the officials said, claiming that they want to "see how far Trump will go."
In the meantime, however, Maduro has been sleeping in different places and changing his phone number to avoid being targeted.
The New York Times detailed last week that Maduro has also leaned on Cuba as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign against his regime, which recently included a warning from the U.S. president to relinquish power or risk being forcefully.
The outlet added that Maduro has also expanded the role of Cuban bodyguards in his security detailed and added more counterintelligence officers from the country to the Venezuelan military, considering that Havana has a vested interest in keeping Maduro in power given the countries' tight relations.
Maduro's second-in-command, Diosdado Cabello, again rejected the regime will leave, saying the only transition taking place in the country is "towards socialism." "It's the only one there is in Venezuela, there is no other one," he added.
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