Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Thursday that his government is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States, following months of U.S. military pressure on drug trafficking networks linked to his government.
In a pre-recorded interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet that aired on state television, Maduro said Venezuela is “ready” to discuss a drug trafficking deal with the US. He called on countries to ‘talk seriously, with data in hand’.
“The U.S. government knows because we have told many of their spokespeople that if they are serious about talking about an anti-drug trafficking agreement, we are ready,” he said. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for American investment, like Chevron, when they want it, where they want it and however they want it.”
Chevron Corp. is the only major U.S. oil company currently exporting Venezuelan crude oil to the United States.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro looks on during a meeting at the National Assembly in Caracas, August 22, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
Maduro said the US wants regime change in Venezuela and access to its oil reserves through a months-long pressure campaign that began with a major military deployment in the Caribbean Sea. in August.
He said it is clear that the US “wants to impose itself through threats, intimidation and violence.”
The interview was recorded on New Year’s Eve, the same day the US military announced a kinetic attack that killed five people aboard two ships operated by designated terrorist organizations involved in narcotics trafficking.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro took part in a meeting in Caracas on December 10. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
At least 114 people have been killed since the US began bombing suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in early September.
The US may be signaling a possible expansion of its Venezuela-targeted campaign, including possible ground operations.
President Donald Trump confirmed that an attack last week targeted what he described as a Venezuelan port used for drug trafficking, but declined to say whether the operation was carried out by the US military or another entity such as the CIA.
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USSOUTHCOM announced a new kinetic attack on suspected naro-terrorist ships on Wednesday, December 31. (@Southcom via X)
Maduro declined to comment on the strike during the interview but said he could “talk about it in a few days.”
In recent weeks, Trump has increased pressure on Maduro, ordering a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, labeling his regime as a foreign terrorist organization and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to finance terrorism, drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
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US authorities also seized two ships carrying sanctioned oil.
