Trump Is Not Seeking a Change of Government in Venezuela, Ambassador Grenell Says
Richard Grenell (L) during his meeting with the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro (R) n the Miraflores Palace, Caracas. Photo: Prensa Presidencial Venezuela
February 23, 2025 Hour: 3:47 pm
Special envoy of the Trump administration for Venezuela, Richard Grenell, assured in a recent interview that the president of the United States has no interest in promoting regime changes in the world and that his main focus is the well-being of US citizens.
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Grenell’s statements come after his visit to Caracas on January 31 and the subsequent release of six American citizens detained in the South American country.
During a conversation with The Epoch Times, Grenell recalled his meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. “I spent the day in Caracas, I met with Maduro, I saw him face to face. I tried to have a conversation in which we would have a different relationship with him,” the official expressed.
Grenell made it clear that the Trump Administration’s policy is not aimed at intervening in foreign governments; rather, they are very clear “about the Venezuelan government and Maduro, but Donald Trump is someone who does not want to make regime changes.”
The diplomat emphasized that Trump’s interests are focused on his country and on improving the quality of life for Americans, who only want to “do everything we can to make Americans stronger, more prosperous. That is what we are focusing on right now,” he added.
Grenell also revealed that during his visit to Venezuela, Maduro presented a series of requests in exchange for the release of detained American citizens. However, he assured that his offer was only for his presence, as a U.S. envoy, in the Miraflores Palace.
“As a diplomat, I have to say that when you are at a negotiating table, the reason we are successful is not because we can talk better than other people, it is not because we are convinced in any way. There is a reason why Donald Trump’s ambassadors are able to do these things. And that is because of Donald Trump; it is because he represents a credible threat,” he stated.
Meanwhile, after the mentioned meeting, President Nicolás Maduro positively assessed the meeting and expressed the need to establish a “Zero Agenda” between the two nations.
“Our message has been one: We just want to build relations based on respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty, for Venezuela’s democratic life, for international law, and for our Latin American and Caribbean region,” Grenell asserted.
In this regard, Grenell pointed out that the concessions from Caracas were due to the pressure exerted by the Trump Administration, which is based on various strategies, not just the possibility of military intervention. “It is not just a military threat; it is a tariff threat, it is a threat of economic sanctions, it is a credible threat,” he noted.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: teleSURtv.net