Maduro expresses readiness for talks with US on drug trafficking and oil investments

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said he is “ready” to engage in conversations with the United States centered around combating drug trafficking as well as U.S. investment in Venezuelan oil reserves.

“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,” Maduro shared in an interview with journalist Ignacio Ramonet.

“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 continued.

The interview, which was recorded on New Year’s Eve, comes just days before President Donald Trump shared in a WABC interview with radio host John Catsimatidis that a drone strike was conducted on a port facility in Venezuela. The New York Times later reported that the drone strike was conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, marking the first military attack on Venezuelan soil since the Trump administration began bombing suspected drug boats in the Caribbean late last summer.

Since carrying out its first military on September 2, 2025, the United States has executed 30 strikes on vessels — killing more than 110 people — as a part of the Trump administration’s “war on drugs”. The Trump administration has not provided evidence that these vessels near Venezuela’s coast were carrying drugs at the time of the strike, however U.S. Southern Command shared that “intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking.”

The Trump administration has deemed Maduro’s government to be a foreign terrorist organization and has offered award money for information which could lead to his arrest.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared with reporters on December 19 that the Venezuelan government’s conduct was “intolerable” to the United States.

However, several authorities have deemed drugs trafficked through Venezuela to just be a sliver of the overall amount flooding the United States. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated in its World Drug Report that 5% of Columbia cocaine was trafficked through Venezuela. The Washington Office on Latin America noted that the country was not a major gateway for cocaine headed to the United States. A vast majority of drugs continued to be trafficked through Mexico and Central America.

Meanwhile, the United States has seized two oil tankers since December 10, arguing that the tankers were “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.” The United States is now seeking to seize a third tanker.