Maduro says Venezuela is willing to negotiate with U.S. on drug trafficking

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday he was willing to negotiate with the United States over drug trafficking and oil after weeks of an escalating pressure campaign on his government.

In an interview with Venezuelan state television, Maduro said he was ready to talk to the United States “whenever and wherever.”

He also dodged questions about President Donald Trump’s statement that the United States had struck a staging facility in Venezuela — reportedly the first such attack by the CIA inside the country.

For the past three months, U.S. forces have been targeting vessels they suspect of smuggling drugs through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Since the first U.S. attack on a ship in international waters on September 2, there have been more than 30 attacks on ships as part of the Trump administration’s “war on drugs”, killing more than 110 people.

The latest attack occurred on Wednesday, when two ships allegedly carrying drugs were attacked, killing five people on board, according to the U.S. military.

On Monday, Trump said US raid on ‘Docklands’ Related to suspected Venezuelan drug trafficking ship, causing “major explosion”.

According to CNN and the New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, the explosion was caused by a drone strike launched by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). If confirmed, it would be the first known U.S. action inside Venezuela.

But Maduro seemed elusive during the interview. Asked if he could confirm or deny the attack, Maduro said “that may be something we discuss in a few days.”

In addition to drug trafficking, Maduro has said he is open to oil and immigration issues.

In recent months, Trump has focused on cracking down on the flow of drugs into the United States, particularly fentanyl and cocaine.

The US president will also double the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and announce that he will designate Maduro’s government as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

Maduro vehemently denies being a cartel leader and accuses the United States of using the “war on drugs” as a pretext to try to overthrow him and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Counter-narcotics experts say Venezuela accounts for a relatively small share of global drug trafficking and is a transit country for smuggled drugs produced elsewhere.

Its neighbor Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, but most of the cocaine is believed to enter the United States via other routes than through Venezuela.

Without providing evidence, Trump accused Maduro of “emptying his prisons and insane asylums” and “forcing” inmates to immigrate to the United States.

It is estimated that nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country’s economic crisis and repression since 2013, some of them heading to the United States.

The United States has also been cracking down hard sanctioned oil tankers Entering and leaving Venezuela.

On December 10, the US military seized an oil tanker in Venezuelan waters, saying it was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.” Venezuela described it as an act of “international piracy.”

The United States has since seized another tanker and pursued a third.

The Trump administration views the operation against the suspected drug ship as a non-international armed conflict against alleged traffickers, but legal experts say it may violate laws governing such conflicts.

The United States has provided no evidence that the ships it targeted were carrying drugs. But U.S. Southern Command again insisted this week that “intelligence confirms these vessels are transiting and engaging in drug trafficking along known drug trafficking routes.”