In phone call, Trump told Maduro to flee

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday he had recently spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called US preparations for an attack, AFP reported.

- Agencies

“I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,” Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had discussed a possible meeting, while The Wall Street Journal said om Saturday that the conversation also included conditions of amnesty if Maduro were to step down.

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin said on Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union” show that the United States has offered Maduro the chance to leave his country for Russia or elsewhere.

The United States is piling the pressure on Venezuela, with a major military buildup in the Caribbean, the designation of an alleged drug cartel run by Maduro as a terrorist group, and an ominous warning from Trump that Venezuelan airspace is “closed.”

Washington says the aim of the military deployment launched in September is to curb drug trafficking in the region, but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal.