CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to\u00a0combat drug trafficking, the South American country\u2019s President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday on state television, but he declined to comment on a CIA-led strike last week at a Venezuelan docking area that the Trump administration believed was used by cartels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maduro, in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, reiterated that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with\u00a0a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea\u00a0in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are they seeking? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force,\u201d Maduro said, later adding that\u00a0it is time for both nations to \u201cstart talking seriously, with data in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe U.S. government knows, because we\u2019ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we\u2019re ready,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chevron Corp. is the only major oil company exporting Venezuelan crude to the U.S. Venezuela has the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The interview was taped on\u00a0New Year\u2019s Eve, the same day the U.S. military announced strikes against five alleged drug-smuggling boats. The latest attacks bring the total number of known boat strikes to 35 and the number of people killed to at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. Venezuelans are among the victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump has\u00a0justified the attacks\u00a0as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an\u00a0\u201carmed conflict\u201d with drug cartels. The strikes began off Venezuela\u2019s Caribbean coast and later expanded to the eastern Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the CIA was behind\u00a0a drone strike last week\u00a0at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. It was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the boat strikes began, a significant escalation in the administration\u2019s\u00a0pressure campaign\u00a0on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about the operation on Venezuelan soil, Maduro said he could \u201ctalk about it in a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"