by Shaun TANDON
U.S. President Donald Trump sent an envoy Friday to Venezuela to warn leftist leader Nicolas Maduro to accept the unconditional return of deported Venezuelans or face consequences.
Richard Grenell, an outspoken ally of Trump who serves in a broad role as envoy for special missions, traveled to Caracas to speak to Maduro as the new administration vows to push a hard line.
"President Trump expects Nicolas Maduro to take back all of the Venezuelan criminals and gang members that have been exported to the United States, and to do so unequivocally and without condition," said Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy for Latin America.
He said that Grenell was also demanding that "American hostages need to be released -- immediately, unequivocally."
"All I would do on this call is urge the Maduro government -- the Maduro regime -- in Venezuela, to heed to Special Envoy Ric Grenell and to his demands and what he puts on the table, because ultimately, there will be consequences otherwise," Claver-Carone told reporters.
Venezuela's communication minister, Freddy Nanez, confirmed on Telegram that Maduro accepted a meeting with Grenell but suggested that the Venezuelan side did not expect agreements.
It would be one of the first known meetings by the second Trump administrations with a government it considers hostile since the inauguration.
Maduro was recently sworn in for a third term despite widespread international concerns about irregularities in the election.
Claver-Carone said that the talks did not imply any softening of position on Maduro.
The previous administration of Joe Biden agreed to relax sanctions on oil as part of a deal for American prisoners and free elections.
Venezuela freed 10 Americans in a swap. But Biden reimposed sanctions after Maduro did not follow suit on democracy demands.
Maduro recently announced the capture of seven "mercenaries" and said two were US citizens.
"This is not a quid pro quo, is not a negotiation in exchange for anything. President Trump himself has made very clear we don't need Venezuelan oil," Claver-Carone said.
Trump has made deporting undocumented people in the United States a top priority. During his campaign, he described immigrants as "poisoning the blood" of the United States.
Since his return, he has pressed countries to take back deportees -- a top priority for Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he starts a five-nation tour of Latin America on Saturday.
In his first week back in the White House, Trump vowed crushing tariffs on Colombia, a longstanding US ally, after its president called for more humane treatment of repatriated citizens.
The Trump administration quickly ended protections from deportation for more than 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States under protected status.
The Biden administration had allowed them to stay due to the fears for their safety if they return to Venezuela.
Trump also signed a law making it easier to detain migrants who commit crimes, named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan migrant who had been arrested twice but released before her killing.
The Venezuelan opposition, whose candidate was identified by both the Trump and Biden administrations as the rightful winner of last year's presidential election, criticized the ending of the protections, saying that the vast majority of the Venezuelans in the United States were "honest and hard-working" and forced to flee by Maduro.
Grenell, a prolific user of social media, in Trump's first term served as acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany, where he generated controversy with posts in support of Europe's populist right.
© Agence France-Presse