“Our people are safe and at peace”

Earlier this week, Trump assured that the United States had destroyed a docking area for ships allegedly used to transport drugs to Venezuela, which would be Washington’s first attack on Venezuelan territory.

“Maybe this is something we’ll talk about in a few days,” Maduro told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, who asked for details after recalling that the Venezuelan government “has neither confirmed nor denied this information.”

The United States mobilized a military flotilla to the Caribbean in August and bombed around 30 ships, killing more than 100 people. Caracas denounces the fact that the maneuvers aim to overthrow the Maduro government.

Trump has warned since November that he would launch ground attacks in Venezuela and has even authorized CIA operations in the Caribbean country. “What I can tell you is that The national defensive system has guaranteed and guarantees the territorial integrity, the peace of the country and the use and enjoyment of all our territories.. Our people are safe and at peace. “I can tell you something there,” Maduro said in the interview.

In the absence of details on the location of the American operation, speculation has circulated on social media that a fire in warehouses in Maracaibo (west) of Primazol, a chemical wholesaler, may have had something to do with the attack.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro fueled these rumors by asserting that “Trump bombed a factory in Maracaibo” in which, he said, “they mix coca paste to make cocaine.” “President Petro, not here, we do not package or manufacture any type of narcotics,” replied the head of the company, Eduardo Siu.

Maduro reiterated his desire to dialogue with the United States, after confirm he has not spoken to Trump since a phone conversation they had on November 21whom he described as “cordial and respectful”.

Venezuelan airspace

Details of that call have not been shared by either party, but Trump has since increased his pressure with the informal closure of Venezuelan airspace, apply more sanctions and order the seizure of sanctioned vessels loaded with Venezuelan oil.

“I even think that conversation was pleasant, but the developments that followed the conversation were not pleasant. Let’s wait,” he commented. Maduro confirmed that is ready to conclude agreements with the United Statesparticularly in the areas of oil, immigration and the fight against narcotics.

“If they want to seriously discuss an agreement to fight drug trafficking, we are ready,” he said, before proposing an oil agreement “for American investments like Chevron.” “Where they want and how they want,” he said. He also proposed the reactivation of an agreement for the expulsion of undocumented Venezuelans on direct flights from the United States to Venezuelawhich, according to Maduro, was unilaterally canceled by Washington three weeks ago.

“They talk about the migration issue, but they are the ones who suspended the migration agreement (…) If one day there were rationality and diplomacy, they could perfectly talk to each other,” he declared. Hours before the interview, the Department of Corrections announced release of 88 detainees during 2024 post-election protestsdescribed as fraudulent by the opposition which claimed the victory of its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.

Maduro’s re-election sparked protests that left 28 dead and 2,400 arrested, of whom around 2,000 were released, according to official figures. To this group of 88 are added 99 other people whom the government released as a precautionary measure on December 25, even if NGOs like Foro Penal, which judicially defends “political prisoners”, were only able to verify around 61 cases at that time.

It is estimated that there are still more than 700 politically detained in the country. These outings coincide with a increased pressure from the United States. “Despite the context of permanent siege against the Nation, the Venezuelan State guarantees dignified treatment, respect for human rights and comprehensive care for people deprived of their liberty,” says the Ministry of Penitentiary Service in a press release.