U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but refused to reveal any details of the call, according to The New York Times.
"I don't want to comment on it; the answer is yes," Trump said aboard Air Force One. "I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call," he told reporters.
The U.S. president also said that his Saturday social media post warning that the Venezuelan airspace should be considered to be closed was not a signal that an airstrike is imminent.
"Don't read anything into it," said Trump, noting that he made the alert "because we consider Venezuela to be not a very friendly country."
"To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump wrote earlier on Saturday in a post on Truth Social without elaboration.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has earlier warned several major airlines of a "potentially hazardous situation" and advised them to "exercise caution" given the "worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela."
The United States, under the pretext of "drug interdiction," has recently deployed multiple warships in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, continuing to exert pressure on the country. Venezuela has repeatedly accused the United States of attempting to use military threats to instigate regime change and to expand its military presence in Latin America.
