Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government reportedly proposed a sweeping package of economic concessions to the United States in a last-ditch effort to prevent an American military intervention. According to a report by The New York Times, Maduro’s envoys offered to open Venezuela’s lucrative oil and gold sectors to U.S. companies, redirect oil exports from China to the U.S., and sharply curtail existing contracts with Russia, China, and Iran in exchange for easing tensions and lifting sanctions.
The proposal, according to the report, included granting preferential access to American energy and mining firms for all future projects, as well as scaling back Venezuela’s alliances with Washington’s geopolitical rivals—moves Maduro is said to have described privately as an “inevitable price” to prevent war. Caracas has already halted oil shipments to Cuba, one of its closest allies, in a bid to conserve revenue amid mounting U.S. pressure.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump, reportedly influenced by hardliners in his administration such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, rejected the offer, insisting that any diplomatic progress would first require Maduro’s resignation. The decision comes as fears grow that Washington is preparing a regime-change operation, with U.S. naval assets and Marine units already deployed near Venezuelan waters under the guise of counter-narcotics operations.
Last week, Trump ordered his envoy Ric Grenell to end all diplomatic contact with Caracas, a move widely seen as confirmation that Washington has chosen confrontation over negotiation. Though some U.S. and Venezuelan officials privately hope Trump’s position could shift, given his unpredictability on other foreign policy issues, mediation offers—such as one reportedly made by Qatar—have thus far been dismissed by Washington.
The reported rejection comes as Maduro orders a defense protocol to be activated in the country where air defenses and troops have been deployed to Venezuela's coast with highways leading to Caracas being blocked, a sign that the Maduro government believes war is imminent.
Adding to the speculation, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a development many analysts interpret as a deliberate effort to boost her international legitimacy ahead of a potential U.S.-backed regime change.