You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now,” was the ultimatum given by Trump to Maduro amid escalating tensions.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appears even more isolated this week after losing two regional allies, Honduras and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, at the polls as he confronts Washington’s naval buildup in the Caribbean.

The US carried out its first strike against an alleged drug boat on September 2 in the Caribbean between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, 20 more boats have been destroyed in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing more than 80 people, in what Hegseth has dubbed Operation Southern Spear.

Venezuela’s government said it “forcefully rejects” Trump’s claim about closing the airspace and that it was a “colonial threat” intended to undermine the country’s “territorial integrity, aeronautical security and full sovereignty.”

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is running out of options to step down and leave his country under U.S.-guaranteed safe passage, following a short call with U.S. President Donald Trump last month where Trump refused a series of requests from the Venezuelan leader, according to four sources briefed on the call.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed Admiral Frank Bradley, the head of the U.S. military’s special operations command (USSOCOM), as an “American hero” after the White House confirmed the top Navy admiral ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in early September.

The U.S. declared an alleged cartel in Venezuela a terrorist organization, the latest action targeting the country and the Maduro government.

The White House will hold a meeting on Venezuela as President Donald Trump confirmed speaking with President Nicolás Maduro amid escalating tensions.

A DANCING Nicolas Maduro took the stage in Caracas this week and declared Venezuela ready to fight. Daring Washington to make its next move, the desperate dictator has rejected Donald

While President Maduro's recent actions are seen as a sign of desperation by supporters of Venezuela's political opposition, months of pressure have yet to produce defections or a government transition.