Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has rejected accusations from the United States that his government is involved in drug trafficking. Speaking on Thursday, Maduro called the claims “lies” and criticized recent remarks by President Donald Trump, who compared Venezuela’s alleged drug activities to weapons of mass destruction.
“Since they cannot accuse me, since they cannot accuse Venezuela of having weapons of mass destruction, since they cannot accuse us of having nuclear rockets, of preparing a nuclear weapon, of having chemical weapons, they invented an accusation that the United States knows is as false as that accusation of weapons of mass destruction, which led them to an eternal war,” Maduro said. He referenced the Iraq War in his comments.
Maduro stated he is open to working with U.S. officials to address drug trafficking and reiterated previous offers to meet with Trump. He also addressed recent U.S. military actions targeting alleged drug vessels and blockading Venezuelan ports.
“The U.S. 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 said during a taped interview broadcast on state-owned channel teleSUR.
He further suggested cooperation between the two countries could extend to allowing U.S. firms investment opportunities in Venezuela’s oil sector “whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.”
Maduro declined to comment on reports about a U.S. strike against a suspected drug-processing facility on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. The CIA also refused comment regarding this operation, which Trump announced earlier in the week as having “knocked out” a facility Saturday night.
In October, Trump stated he had authorized CIA operations in Venezuela but did not provide details about their nature.
The Defense Department recently deployed a carrier strike group to the Caribbean with aims including stopping fast boats believed to be transporting drugs toward the United States and Europe and enforcing blockades at Venezuelan ports following seizures of sanctioned vessels.
According to U.S. officials, these military strikes are intended to disrupt South American cartels from sending narcotics into the country—a policy that has raised legal questions among some within the administration.
The U.S. Southern Command reported two additional strikes against boats in international waters on New Year’s Eve that resulted in five deaths. Since September, at least 36 boats have been sunk and 115 people killed during these operations; most incidents occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean while others took place in the Caribbean Sea or undisclosed locations.
Additionally, Washington has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture and imposed sanctions on several members of his family over alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities.
Trump has also accused Maduro’s government of deliberately sending criminals—including members of Tren de Aragua gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization—to enter the United States during Joe Biden’s presidency.
