Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday sidestepped a question about an alleged U.S. strike on a dock inside Venezuela but signaled openness to talks with Washington on drug trafficking, oil and migration after weeks of escalating American pressure.
“Wherever they want and whenever they want,” Maduro said in a state television interview, describing potential dialogue with the United States. Pressed on whether he could confirm or deny an attack, he replied, “This could be something we talk about in a few days.”
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His comments followed President Donald Trump’s assertion that U.S. forces had “hit and destroyed” a docking area used by alleged Venezuelan drug boats. Trump declined to specify whether the operation was carried out by the military or the CIA or where it occurred, saying only that it took place “along the shore.”
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area … and that is no longer around.”
Maduro neither confirmed nor denied the strike but insisted Venezuela had defended its territory as the United States expanded a maritime campaign in the region. “Our people are safe and in peace,” he said.
The Venezuelan leader added he has not spoken with Trump since Nov. 12, characterizing that last conversation as “cordial and respectful.” He said he remains willing to “talk seriously about an agreement to fight drug trafficking.”
Washington has intensified pressure on Caracas in recent weeks, informally constricting Venezuelan airspace, imposing additional sanctions and ordering the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a narcotics enterprise and has vowed to crack down on trafficking. Maduro denies involvement in the drug trade and says the United States is seeking to topple his government because Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Trump has for weeks threatened ground strikes against drug cartels in the region, saying such operations would begin “soon.” His claim about the destroyed dock is the first apparent instance pointing to a strike on Venezuelan territory, though key details remain unverified. The administration has not publicly provided evidence linking the alleged facility to trafficking.
Since September, U.S. forces have carried out numerous strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, targeting what Washington describes as drug-smuggling vessels. At least 107 people have been killed in at least 30 strikes, according to information released by the U.S. military. Human rights groups and international law experts say the operations likely amount to extrajudicial killings; U.S. officials reject that characterization.
The uncertainty around the latest claim underscores the opacity of the campaign and the legal questions surrounding it. Trump’s refusal to clarify whether a military or intelligence unit conducted the strike, along with the lack of a specific location, leaves open the extent of U.S. involvement inside Venezuelan territory — a potentially explosive issue as both countries test the bounds of pressure and deterrence.
For now, Maduro appears to be balancing defiance with an opening to talks. “Let’s wait,” he said in the interview, framing negotiations with the United States as possible if they are “serious” and focused on shared priorities. Whether that opening holds may depend on what evidence, if any, Washington releases about the alleged strike — and how far the campaign at sea extends toward Venezuela’s shores.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
