
Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seeking renewed talks with the United States before he was captured overnight in a stunning raid by U.S. military and law enforcement elements. His capture followed months of tanker seizures a recent U.S. strike, and targeting of boats ferrying deadly narcotics out of the country.
According to Reuters, Maduro offered potential U.S. access to Venezuela’s oil reserves and proposed restarting dialogue on counter-narcotics cooperation. Speaking on state television recently, he suggested reopening the door to investment by Chevron and urged Trump to engage in discussions aimed at cooperating to combat drug trafficking.
Venezuela has been serving as a hub for drug-smuggling and dangerous cartels such as Tren de Aragua and the Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles.
“To the people of the United States I say what I have always said, Venezuela is a brother country… a friendly government,” Maduro said during his address. “We must start to speak seriously, with the facts in hand. The U.S. government knows that, because we have said it a lot to their interlocutors, that if they want to speak seriously about the agreement to battle drug trafficking, we are ready to do that.”
“If they want Venezuela’s oil, Venezuela is ready to accept U.S. investments like those of Chevron, when, where and how they want to make them,” Maduro added. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but the industry has been hit hard during the reigns of Maduro and his socialist dictator predecessor, Hugo Chavez.