Trump Issues Direct Ultimatum to Maduro – “Leave Now or Face U.S. Ground Invasion,” Sources Say

President Donald Trump personally warned Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro last week that he must immediately resign and flee the country or face imminent U.S. land invasions and capture-or-kill operations against his regime, multiple high-level U.S. and regional sources confirmed to the Miami Herald and The New York Times tonight.

In a tense phone call late last week – the first direct contact between the two leaders since Trump returned to office – the President delivered a blunt message: “You can save yourself, your wife, your son, and a few others, but you have to leave right now. If you don’t, the consequences will be swift and severe.” According to three officials briefed on the call, Trump made clear that large-scale U.S. ground operations inside Venezuela are now fully prepared and could begin within days.

Maduro rejected the offer outright, demanding blanket global amnesty for himself and his inner circle, plus continued control over Venezuela’s armed forces in exchange for eventual elections – conditions the White House immediately dismissed as “delusional.” After the call collapsed, the Venezuelan regime was informed no further direct communication would be accepted.

Hours later, Trump took to Truth Social announcing that Venezuelan airspace is now “completely closed” to all traffic, civilian and military alike. The FAA followed with an emergency NOTAM citing “heightened U.S. military activity in the region.” Major carriers including American, Iberia, Air France, and LATAM have already suspended all flights to Caracas indefinitely.

The ultimatum comes as the Pentagon’s “Operation Southern Spear” – the largest Caribbean military buildup since the 1989 invasion of Panama – reaches peak readiness. More than 15,000 U.S. troops, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, two Marine expeditionary units, F-35 squadrons, and special operations forces are now positioned in and around Colombia, Curaçao, Aruba, and Guyana. Satellite imagery shows U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment and Delta Force elements staging at forward operating locations in Colombia.

Since September, U.S. drones and AC-130 gunships have conducted at least 21 strikes on suspected narco-submarines and go-fast boats linked to the Maduro-controlled “Cartel de los Soles,” killing more than 80 people – strikes the administration now openly calls “pre-invasion shaping operations.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed tonight that “all options remain on the table to end the narco-terrorist threat emanating from Caracas,” but refused to comment on the President’s direct call. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, speaking on Fox News moments ago, said: “The President has made it clear – Maduro’s time is up. He can leave peacefully while he still has the chance, or he will be removed by force.”

In Caracas, Maduro went on state television calling the U.S. demands “an act of war” and ordered full military mobilization. “We will defend every inch of the sacred soil of Bolívar,” he declared, flanked by Russian and Chinese ambassadors. Sources inside Venezuela say the regime has begun arming loyalist militias (colectivos) and moving surface-to-air missiles to coastal defenses.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, reached by phone, warned that any U.S.-brokered “golden parachute” for Maduro would be unacceptable to the Venezuelan people. “There can be no impunity for crimes against humanity,” she said.

As of this hour, U.S. officials say the window for Maduro to accept safe passage is “rapidly closing.” One senior defense official told reporters off the record: “If he’s still in Miraflores Palace by the weekend, expect boots on the ground.”

The dramatic escalation marks the most direct U.S. threat of regime change by military force since the 2003 invasion of Iraq and sets the stage for what could become President Trump’s first major foreign war of his second term.