Dec. 1 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump plans to host a White House meeting Monday evening about Venezuela as the president increases pressure on the country and its President Nicholas Maduro.
Important Cabinet and security team members will join the meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m., including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
The U.S. military has sent more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops to the region. The Pentagon has called the move "Operation Southern Spear." Since Sept. 2, the United States has also struck multiple boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific that it claims were drug smuggling boats, killing about 80 people.
In a recent phone call, Trump reportedly gave Maduro an ultimatum to step down, but he said no and demanded a "global amnesty" for himself and his allies, The Guardian reported. The president confirmed the call on Sunday, but didn't provide details. The call is believed to have happened on Nov. 21.
"I wouldn't say it went well or badly, it was a phone call."
