Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro claimed in a new interview that the Caracas government is “ready” to discuss an agreement with the US to prevent drug trafficking following a CIA drone strike last week on a docking area believed to be used by cartels.
“The US 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,” the left-wing authoritarian told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet in a sitdown recorded on New Year’s Eve and broadcast on state TV Thursday.
“If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for US investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it,” Maduro added.
The US has carried out at least 35 strikes targeting alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific since Sept. 2, killing at least 115 suspected traffickers.
Those strikes are part of a monthslong pressure campaign meant to force Maduro from power, with the 63-year-old under indictment in the US on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption.
“The current status quo with the current Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Dec. 19.
“The status quo [is] that they operate and cooperate with terrorist organizations against the national interest of the United States – not just cooperate, but partner with and participate in activities that threaten the national interest of the United States. So yes, our goal is to change that dynamic and that’s why the president is doing what he’s doing.”
Last week’s strike on the docking area, which Trump himself revealed in a Dec. 26 interview with WABC radio host John Catsimatidis, was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the boat strikes began.
Maduro declined to discuss the operation in the New Year’s interview, saying he could “talk about it in a few days.”
