I have proposed, and Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.

A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue.

The fact that we have problems in our society is something obvious and undeniable.

The fact that Israel and foreigners are waiting to exploit and steer our problems is an undeniable reality for anyone with political vision and insight.

The very people who were fueling these situations were Netanyahu and Trump. Do they truly want to solve our country's problems?

Honestly, besides them creating problems for this nation, has anyone else caused such trouble?

They have blocked all paths for us, they don’t let any transactions be made, and they sabotage every initiative we try to implement to keep us from standing on our feet.

Then they tell some people, "We want to save you," after having created these painful problems for us.

We are at fault; there’s no doubt about it. But we are all at fault.

Anyone who tries to distance themselves from responsibility is being unfair—whether they are reformists, principlists, or anyone else making claims.

Relations between Venezuela and the United States have been, to put it mildly, extraordinary! We are dealing very well with President Delcy Rodríguez, and her Representatives.

Oil is starting to flow, and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be greatly helping the people of Venezuela.

Marco Rubio, and all of our Representatives, are doing a fantastic job, but we speak only for ourselves, and don’t want there to be any confusion or misrepresentation.

There is a story about a man named Harry Sargeant III in The Wall Street Journal. He has no authority, in any way, shape, or form, to act on behalf of the United States of America, nor does anyone else that is not approved by the State Department.

Without this approval, no one is authorized to represent our Country.

I have just concluded a short but important visit in Washington, in a conversation with our great friend, Trump.

The President believes that the Iranians have already learned who they are dealing with.

I believe that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they certainly understand they made a mistake the last time by not reaching an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good agreement.

He wanted to hear my opinion. I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the quality of any agreement with Iran.

But I said that if an agreement is indeed reached, it must include the elements that are very important to us — from Israel’s perspective — and in my view, not only Israel’s.

It is not just the nuclear issue; it is also the ballistic missiles and the Iranian proxies.

That essentially concluded the discussion, I would say, although it of course also touched on Gaza, the entire region, and other general matters.

We have to make a deal, otherwise it is going to be very traumatic.

If the deal we make is not very fair and very good, then it is going to be a very difficult time for Iran.

The people of Israel should shame their President for not giving Netanyahu a pardon.

He is disgraceful for not giving a pardon.

He should give it.

Come to visit the island. New administration people visiting.

I have had two phone calls with President Trump, and many more with Secretary Rubio.

We have, in every single phone call, have had very respectful conversations, and we have kept a high level of cooperation and respect so that we can develop a joint work.

I'm really grateful for this level of cooperation and what we're going to build together.

I will tell you this as a lawyer that I am. They are both innocent: President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

We have, and I will refer right now to the DEA reports that have repeatedly stated that Venezuela is not irrelevant in the drug traffic towards the United States.

We also have 27 reports from the United Nations stating that Venezuela is not a relevant country when it comes to drug trafficking towards the United States. We know that less than 5% of drugs go through the north of the Caribbean and that 70% come from the equator.

We regret immensely this situation, and I must say that I believe completely in peace and in the dialogue of diplomacy and political dialogue.

I don't find this a hard work to do.

I truly believe that diplomatic dialogue is the way forward. We believe that political, diplomatic, and also the dialogue of energy is a channel that will crush all fake news.

I know personally that President Trump has also suffered with regard to fake news.

We salute, actually, the fact that NBC is right here with us, you know, seeing and experiencing Venezuela and seeing what the reality of the country is.

We know of foreigners who come to Venezuela, who travel, move around the city, and are surprised about the state of the city, of the country, and the development. This is very important for us.