Ric Grenell, a special envoy for President Trump, said this week that he remains in contact with the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro despite soaring tensions between Washington and Caracas.
After the US bombed a boat off the coast of Venezuela for the first time, Maduro sent a letter to President Trump, where the Venezuelan leader disputed the claims that his government was involved in drug trafficking and said he wanted talks with the US and was ready to engage with Grenell.
When asked about the letter and if he would engage with Maduro in an appearance on CBS Mornings, Grenell said, “I’ve already engaged at the direction of President Trump. I’ve spoken to Mr. Maduro. I’ve gone down to Venezuela and I continue to talk to his team.”
Grenell traveled to Venezuela on January 31, met with Maduro, and returned home with six Americans who were detained in Venezuela. But his diplomatic efforts have angered other members of the Trump administration, and there are reportedly tensions between Grenell and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long wanted regime change in Venezuela.
After Grenell’s latest comments about his engagement with Maduro, other Trump officials complained about him in comments to Semafor. “Unfortunately, Ric Grenell’s personal comments have been out of step with the president and administration, and the president himself and secretary of state should be deemed as the official policymakers,” one administration official said.
Another source close to the White House told the outlet that Grenell “appears to have created a new genre of Maduro fan fiction where the dictator is just a good guy who’s misunderstood, where drugs aren’t a problem, and where providing hard currency to the world’s most wanted terrorist isn’t a big deal.”
While some officials are ripping Grenell over his diplomatic efforts, Venezuela continues to cooperate with the US on deportations of Venezuelan citizens. Reuters reported that despite the tension and US military actions in the region, twice-weekly deportation flights moving illegal migrants to Venezuela from the US have continued uninterrupted.
In his letter to Trump, Maduro suggested that the US and Venezuela had resolved an issue with deportations through diplomacy facilitated by Grenell. “I recall the fake news that Venezuela had refused to accept migrants back to our country, but this issue was quickly resolved and clarified in a conversation with Ambassador Richard Grenell. To date, this channel has functioned flawlessly,” Maduro said.
