Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro has reciprocated President Donald Trump's openness to talks between the two governments as Caracas faces a large US military presence in the Caribbean.
"Whoever in the US wants to talk with Venezuela, we'll talk," Maduro said late on Monday after Trump indicated earlier that day that he was willing to talk with Maduro. The Venezuelan also sang Imagine by John Lennon during a public rally earlier this week to appeal for peace.
Trump, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said that Maduro "wants to talk", but pivoted to a diatribe about Maduro allegedly sending "all of their prison population into the United States". Trump frequently casts Venezuelan immigrants in the US as dangerous criminals, whom he wants to deport back to their country.
The US does not recognize the Maduro administration as legitimate, and secretary of state Marco Rubio said he will designate Maduro and other top officials as part of a foreign terrorist organization. The US has amassed about 10pc of its navy in the Caribbean in recent weeks and carried out at least 20 fatal attacks on boats it alleged were ferrying drugs to the US.
Crude talks
The actions had not deterred crude shipments from Venezuela, but ship tracking data indicates some slowing this week.
US company Chevron continues to operate in Venezuela, where it resumed crude exports to the US in August after the Trump administration reinstated modified version of its sanctions waiver to do so. Venezuela produces about 1mn b/d of crude, with about 150,000 b/d of that going to the US in October. Chevron exported roughly 400,000 b/d of crude earlier in 2025.
But crude exports to the US have ebbed slightly, with no new exports of Venezuela's Merey crude grade to the US slated for this week, based on ship tracking data from Kpler. Merey is the most common grade exported to the US.
A source with Chevron in Venezuela also indicated that there seem to be no new movements for now to the US, although Venezuela's exports to China continue. Venezuela's state-owned PdV declined to comment.
Sometimes demand for heavy crude for US refiners will flag later in the year, as they work to reduce stocks, market sources have indicated.
