Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Thursday that his government is "ready" to negotiate a drug-trafficking agreement with the United States. This follows months of escalating military pressure from the Trump administration, including a recent land strike on a Venezuelan port.
Maduro made the comments during a pre-taped interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, stating that Venezuela is prepared to talk "whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it." He called on the U.S. to "start talking seriously, with data in hand," regarding narcotics and oil investment.
The Venezuelan leader claimed that the U.S. is using a "monthslong pressure campaign" to force a regime change and gain access to oil reserves. He emphasized his belief that the U.S. seeks "to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force."
The interview aired just after U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed new "lethal kinetic strikes" against narco-terrorist vessels on New Year's Eve. These strikes are part of Operation Southern Spear, a massive military deployment to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that has killed at least 115 people since September.
President Donald Trump recently confirmed a strike on a Venezuelan docking facility, marking a significant escalation from maritime interceptions to targets on sovereign soil. Trump declined to specify if the strike was carried out by the military or the CIA, stating only that the targeted site is "no longer around."
While Maduro declined to comment directly on the land strike during the interview, he hinted he would have more to say "in a few days." The Trump administration has continued to intensify pressure, recently designating the Maduro regime as a foreign terrorist organization.