The United States is pursuing a high-stakes diplomatic gambit to persuade Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to relinquish power, offering amnesty to him and his top lieutenants in exchange for a peaceful transition, according to people familiar with the matter. This bold move comes as overwhelming evidence emerges that Maduro lost last month's election by a significant margin.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, US officials have discussed pardons for Maduro and key regime figures who face Justice Department indictments. One source indicated that the US has put "everything on the table" to convince Maduro to step down before his term ends in January. Another person familiar with the talks said the US would consider providing guarantees against pursuing extradition for these individuals.

This is brilliant. Yeah you miss out on justice but a comfortable life in anonymity somewhere in Wyoming to avert a bloody civil war is an amazing deal if we can swing it https://t.co/WgYUg23Ymf

— Adrian Bonenberger (@AdrianBonenber1) August 11, 2024

 The US placed a $15 million bounty on Maduro in 2020, accusing him of conspiring to flood America with cocaine. This latest diplomatic initiative represents a dramatic shift in approach, driven by the Venezuelan opposition's meticulous documentation of voter tallies showing their candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González, defeated Maduro in a landslide on July 28.

Despite the opposition's efforts, Maduro has maintained his grip on power, jailing thousands of dissidents and tasking the Supreme Court – stacked with his allies – to resolve the election impasse. The strongman's total control over state institutions makes the US proposal a long shot, but it may be the only avenue to force out a leader who has overseen economic collapse, diplomatic isolation, and the exodus of nearly eight million Venezuelans over 11 years of authoritarian rule.

"The US is focusing on carrots, like offering to lift the indictments in exchange for transition talks, rather than sticks like sanctions," said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela expert at the Atlantic Council think tank, in comments to The Wall Street Journal.

The talks have reportedly taken place virtually between Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela's congress and a Maduro confidant, and Daniel Erikson, who directs Venezuela policy at the White House National Security Council. US officials have signaled they won't force Western oil companies to leave Venezuela as part of any deal.

The opposition's strategy to document the election results played a crucial role in spurring the US initiative. Opposition leaders, expecting Maduro to manipulate the vote, trained tens of thousands of poll watchers to obtain paper tabulations from voting machines. Their efforts revealed González won by almost 38 percentage points, collecting 7.3 million votes to Maduro's 3.3 million. "We were able to show the world the truth and what had happened in Venezuela," opposition leader María Corina Machado said.

Maduro has called the opposition's strategy a coup and launched a fierce crackdown, arresting over 2,400 dissidents and protesters. He warned, "There will be no forgiveness," and announced plans to build two new prisons for political prisoners.

The regime has also moved to suppress information, blocking X for 10 days and urging Venezuelans to uninstall WhatsApp. Despite the repression, opposition figure Juan Barreto, a former Caracas mayor once aligned with the regime, urged: "This is a moment to remain calm and have nerves of steel."

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"Without a doubt, our relationship with Israel is important and we are talking about a change in this relationship. We are united with Israel on values such as peace, democracy, and the fight against terrorism, so I'm convinced that relations will be profound," said Borges, who serves under Venezuela's Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó.

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Venezuela is currently embroiled in a political crisis concerning who is the country's legitimate president, which has been underway since Jan. 10, 2019, with the nation and the world divided in support of Guaidó and rival President Nicolás Maduro.

Guaidó has been recognized as the country's president by some 60 nations worldwide, including the United States and Israel.

In a recent visit to Israel, Borges said that Caracas lends great importance to its ties with Jerusalem, adding, "We want to learn from Israel, among other things because our two countries share similar threats like terrorism. Renewing our relationship is an issue of paramount importance on the agenda led by President Guaidó."

Venezuela cut ties with Israel in 2009 in protest over its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which targeted Hamas, the terrorist group ruling the coastal enclave.

Borges, who is currently based in Bogotá, said that "Maduro's dictatorship has isolated Venezuela – no country wants anything to do with a government that served as a patron to terrorism."

He further accused Maduro of being in cahoots with terrorist organizations: "Maduro's alliance with terrorist organizations, groups like Colombia's ELN [National Liberation Army] or FARC [the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army], or like Hezbollah [in Lebanon] has allowed him to pursue an economic policy based on trafficking in drugs, gold, and diamonds."

The second reason for Maduro's survival, according to Borges, is the Cuban dictatorship that has taken over Venezuela's centers of power.

Speaking of the Jewish community in his country, Borges said that "Venezuela was a country of opportunities where everyone was treated with the same affection. That has changed. We live in a devastated country, plagued by a humanitarian crisis, and under a regime that sponsors terrorism. All this led to an emigration process, among the Jewish community as well.

"We're fighting so that everyone can come back, including Jews. I know how hard it is to leave everything behind and I'm sure they miss [Venezuela] but we have to move forward and fight to win our country back, so that we can all go back to living in a Venezuela that champions development, justice, and freedom. These are things we currently can only dream about."

But Borges said he was optimistic about a change in government in the near future.

"We have extensive international support, as well as at home, where the Venezuelan people have given their all for this cause."

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Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, "you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You'll lose everything."

Maduro retaliated late on Monday that Trump's speech was "Nazi-style" and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom the United States, many of Venezuela's neighbors and most Western countries, including Israel, have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaidó or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader's offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaidó, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country's leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia's border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans' scant access to food and medicine.

"We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars," he said in televised comments on Monday. "We will not accept it."

Maduro said Venezuela already received "humanitarian assistance" on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tons of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

"We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open," Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump's repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely. The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela's military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump's aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaidó, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a "decisive moment" to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a "dying" ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a "puppet" of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic Party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

"America will never be a socialist country," he said.

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