Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the governments of the United States and Venezuela should “begin serious negotiations” on counter-narcotics efforts and oil cooperation. He made the remarks in an interview published on Thursday, January 1. In the interview, Maduro acknowledged that Washington has in recent months pursued a militarized pressure campaign targeting alleged “narco-terrorists” and commented on Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. military had “destroyed” a dock that Venezuelan drug cartels used to dispatch boats.
“If they want to speak seriously about an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we are ready,” Maduro said in the interview, which was recorded on Wednesday. An English-language transcript was published by the Latin American network TeleSUR. He also said Caracas was open to U.S. investment in the oil sector: “If they need Venezuelan oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investments—like with Chevron—whenever they want, wherever they want, and on whatever terms they want.” Chevron remains the only major American oil company permitted to export Venezuelan crude.
During the interview, Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet asked Maduro about remarks by Trump, who said last week that he had recently spoken by phone with the Venezuelan leader. Maduro confirmed that the November 21 conversation was “pleasant” but added that “what followed after that was unpleasant.”
Ramonet also noted that Venezuelan authorities had neither confirmed nor denied reports of a possible “ground attack” mentioned by Trump. Such a move would represent a sharp escalation of the U.S. campaign. “Perhaps this will become a subject for discussion in a few days, in the second version of this podcast,” Maduro replied, sidestepping a direct answer.
According to U.S. figures, since September American forces have struck more than 30 suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean, killing over 100 people. Trump has also designated Venezuela a “foreign terrorist organization” and ordered the blocking of all oil tankers servicing the country that fall under U.S. sanctions, threatening to further cripple Caracas’s already weakened economy.