Maduro says Venezuela prepared to barter drug trafficking cope with US

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro mentioned Thursday that his authorities is open to negotiating an settlement with the USA after months of American army stress focusing on drug trafficking networks tied to his authorities.

In a pre-taped interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet that aired on state tv, Maduro mentioned Venezuela is "prepared" to debate a drug-trafficking deal with the U.S. He known as on the nations to "begin speaking severely, with knowledge in hand."

"The U.S. authorities is aware of, as a result of we’ve advised a lot of their spokespeople, that in the event that they need to severely talk about an settlement to fight drug trafficking, we’re prepared," he mentioned. "If they need oil, Venezuela is prepared for U.S. funding, like with Chevron, at any time when they need it, wherever they need it and nonetheless they need it."

Chevron Corp. is the only main U.S. oil firm presently exporting Venezuelan crude to the USA.

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Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro seems to be on throughout a gathering on the Nationwide Meeting in Caracas, Aug. 22, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)

Maduro mentioned the U.S. needs a regime change in Venezuela and entry to its oil reserves by way of a months-long stress marketing campaign that started with a significant military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

He mentioned it's clear the U.S. needs "to impose themselves by way of threats, intimidation and power."

The interview was recorded on New 12 months’s Eve, the identical day the U.S. military announced a kinetic strike that killed 5 folks aboard two vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations concerned in narcotics trafficking.

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Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro joined a rally in Caracas on Dec. 10. (AP Photograph/Cristian Hernandez)

At the least 114 folks have been killed because the U.S. started bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats within the Caribbean and jap Pacific in early September.

The U.S. could also be signaling a doable growth of its Venezuela-focused marketing campaign, together with potential floor operations.

President Donald Trump confirmed {that a} strike final week focused what he described as a Venezuelan port used for drug trafficking, however declined to say whether or not the operation was carried out by the U.S. army or one other entity, such because the CIA.

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USSOUTHCOM introduced one other kinetic strike in opposition to alleged naro-terrorist vessels on Wednesday, Dec. 31. (@Southcom by way of X)

Maduro declined to touch upon that strike throughout the interview, however mentioned he may "speak about it in just a few days."

In latest weeks, Trump has intensified stress on Maduro, ordering a complete blockade of oil tankers getting into or leaving Venezuela, designating his regime a overseas terrorist group, and accusing it of utilizing stolen U.S. belongings to fund terrorism, drug trafficking and different felony exercise.