Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he is open to holding talks with the Trump administration over drug trafficking and the country’s oil reserves, but he dodged when asked about the CIA’s recent drone strike inside his South American nation.
“The U.S. government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” Maduro said in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, which was released on Thursday. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.”
Chevron is the only U.S. oil company that exports Venezuelan oil to the U.S.
Maduro doubled down on his argument that the U.S. is seeking to force regime change in Venezuela and hopes to get access to the nation’s oil reserves.
His comments come as the Trump administration has ramped up the pressure against the Venezuelan strongman, establishing a massive military presence in the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) area, repeatedly blowing up alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and imposing a naval blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers flowing in and out of Venezuela.
“What are they seeking? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force,” Maduro told Ramonet in an interview that was taped on New Year’s Eve.
Since early September, the U.S. military has blowing up alleged drug-smuggling vessels in both the Caribbean and Pacific, conducting a minimum of 35 boat strikes and killing at least 115 “narco-terrorists” in what the administration has argued is an effort to thwart the flow of illegal drugs in the region.
The latest operation took place on Wednesday when the U.S. military took out two purported drug-smuggling boats and killed five “narco-terrorists.” The administration has argued that the lethal strikes are legal and that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with transnational drug cartels.
Trump and Maduro spoke over the phone in November.
The CIA on Dec. 24 conducted a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility, where the U.S. officials believe the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua stores drugs. The mission marked the first U.S. land strikes inside Venezuela since the massive military buildup in the Southcom area began.
When asked about the CIA strike, Maduro said it “could be something we talk about in a few days.”
