Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday he was open to cooperation with Washington, as US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States “hit” a dock in Venezuela where drugs were allegedly being loaded onto boats.
“Wherever they want and whenever they want,” Maduro was quoted by AFP as saying about the idea of dialogue with the US on drug trafficking, oil and migration in an interview on state TV.
Maduro has not yet confirmed a US land attack on a docking facility in his country that allegedly targeted drug boats, according to US President Donald Trump’s comments Monday.
Asked point-blank if he confirmed or denied the attack, Maduro dodged the question and said, “This could be something we talk about in a few days.”
According to the Associated PressMaduro, in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, reiterated that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela.
He claimed the US wants to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves through the months-long pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
“What are they seeking? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force,” Maduro was quoted as saying, later adding that it is time for both nations to “start talking seriously, with data in hand.”
“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,” he reportedly said.
“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.”
US military strikes
On Monday, Trump said the US hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats. The attack would amount to the first known land strike of the US military campaign against drug trafficking from Latin America.
Trump would not say if it was a military or CIA operation or where the strike occurred, noting only that it was “along the shore.”
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”
Later, the US military said on Wednesday it struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats over two days, killing a total of eight people while others jumped overboard and may have survived.
The US Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not disclose the locations of the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
For weeks, Trump has threatened ground strikes on drug cartels in the region, saying they would start “soon,” but this is the first apparent example.
US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug-smugglers.
The administration has provided no evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking; however, this has prompted debate about the legality of these operations.
(With inputs from agencies)
