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An American official said that no date has yet been set for the meeting, which is reportedly still “in the planning stage.”

Despite widespread doubts about its real existence, the U.S. yesterday designated the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”) as a foreign terrorist organization and claimed that Maduro and senior members of his government run it.

This designation grants Trump the authority to impose new sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure.

Many believe this is a pretext for Trump to attempt once again to topple Maduro — something he tried during his first term but failed to achieve.

Since August, Trump has ordered a major naval deployment along Venezuela’s northern coast and a series of deadly airstrikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels said to be operating in the Caribbean Sea.

Venezuela stated that the so-called Cartel de los Soles “does not exist” and called Washington’s characterization a “vile lie” designed to legitimize “an unlawful and illegitimate intervention against Venezuela in the classic U.S. regime-change format.”