Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dismissed speculation that he had fled the country after appearing publicly Sunday amid rising tensions with the US. His brief absence from frequent television appearances had sparked rumours he had vanished.
Reports said US President Donald Trump offered Maduro safe passage out of Venezuela for him and his wife, but many doubt Maduro would accept. The main reason cited is Cuba.
Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar argued Maduro rejects a negotiated exit because he fears being assassinated by the Cuban regime. Salazar asserted that Maduro takes direct orders from Havana and that Cuban intelligence effectively controls Venezuela’s repressive apparatus. For that reason, she told Fox News, Maduro is afraid to leave Miraflores Palace: “Maduro is being instructed by the Cubans not to relinquish power because that is Maduro’s greatest fear: that the Cubans, who are really the ones making the decisions, will kill him before he leaves.”
Analysts say Cuba or Russia would be the likely asylum options. “If he leaves of his own accord, the logical thing would be for him to seek asylum in Cuba, but the situation in Cuba is completely disastrous. Therefore, we would have to look at Russia,” Pedro Rodríguez, a professor of International Relations, told Spain’s La Sexta. He added that if Trump attacks and Maduro is captured by US forces, Maduro could face a grand jury that has accused him of leading a narco-terrorist organization.
Reports say Venezuela’s military leaders are preparing for multiple scenarios as Trump presses for Maduro’s removal. Caracas has reportedly sought a general amnesty for Maduro, his advisers, and their families.
Colombian foreign minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio Mapy and others argue the healthiest outcome would be Maduro’s voluntary departure. Villavicencio Mapy told Bloomberg News she believes Maduro has considered a transition allowing him to leave without imprisonment, enabling a successor to hold legitimate elections.
