Maduro Demands $200 Million and Blanket Pardons for 100 Allies in Failed Resignation Talks with Trump

In a tense 15-minute telephone conversation facilitated by Brazilian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly demanded $200 million in safeguarded personal assets, full pardons for up to 100 loyalists, and secure exile for himself and his inner circle in exchange for stepping down.

According to senior sources cited by The Telegraph, President Donald Trump offered Maduro a limited “graceful exit”: personal amnesty for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son Nicolás Maduro Guerra, provided he resigned immediately and left Venezuela. The proposal was rejected outright.

Maduro countered with far broader terms, insisting on ironclad legal protection for his entire senior leadership and military high command. One source familiar with the exchange said the Venezuelan leader feared “violent retaliation from powerful figures” should he abandon his allies to prosecution.

A secondary dispute emerged over Maduro’s preferred destination. Trump reportedly suggested Russia or China, while Maduro expressed a strong preference for remaining in the Western Hemisphere—ideally Cuba. Qatar was briefly floated as a compromise, though individuals close to the talks denied reports that Maduro sought property or permanent residency in Doha.

The negotiations collapsed over these irreconcilable differences, leaving the Venezuelan crisis without an immediate diplomatic resolution.

If these claims hold true—and The Telegraph has a strong track record for credibility in such leaks—they would mark a profound betrayal of the socialist ideals Maduro has championed for over a decade, from railing against U.S. imperialism to vowing to defend the Bolivarian Revolution and the bolívar’s sovereignty against capitalist exploitation. Demanding a massive personal windfall while his people grapple with hyperinflation and shortages feels like a stark inversion of the anti-elite rhetoric that propelled him to power. Yet, in the unpredictable swirl of the Trump administration—where deal-making often trumps ideology and backchannel surprises abound—we’d be wise to withhold full judgment until a recording or fuller transcript surfaces.