What Venezuela's Maduro Said About US In His Last Interview Before Capture

In an interview aired on Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had extended an olive branch to the US and President Donald Trump, offering to address concerns on drug trafficking and access to Venezuelan oil. Less than 48 hours later, Maduro and his wife were captured by the US following a surprise, precise mission. 

During the conversation with Spanish Journalist Ignacio Ramonet, filmed on New Year's Eve and aired on Venezuelan state TV on New Year's Day, Maduro appeared to scale back his rhetoric against the US. Venezuela, the authoritarian leader said, was a "brother country" to the United States and recalled Trump had referred to him as "Mr President" when they had spoken in November. 

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were also seen walking through portions of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

"To the people of the United States, I say what I have always said: Venezuela is a brother country... a friendly government," the leftist leader was quoted as saying in the interview by news agency Reuters. 

"We must start to speak seriously, with the facts in hand. The US 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 US investments like those of Chevron, when, where and how they want to make them," the president added. 

The belligerence towards the US wasn't completely gone, though.

"What are they seeking? It is clear that they seek to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force," he had said, perhaps portending what was to follow.

Attack

Early on Saturday (local time), at least seven blasts were heard in parts of Caracas and low-flying aircraft streaked the sky, sparking speculation about what was happening. Venezuela accused the United States of attacking the country and this was confirmed later by Trump, who also announced that Maduro and his wife had been captured. 

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he would address a press conference at 11 am on Saturday (9.30 pm IST). 
The capture was executed by the US army's elite Delta Force unit, several media outlets reported.

Build-Up

In the lead-up to the attack, Trump, his supporters, and others in the US government had been appearing to build public support for the action, accusing Venezuela of pushing migrants and drugs into the country. The US president also said Venezuela was a key contributor to the crisis involving fentanyl, an opioid-based prescription pain medicine, and overdose deaths because of it. 

Despite mounting criticism at home, the US government kept attacking alleged drug-smuggling boats, targeting at least 35 vessels and causing 115 deaths. It also seized two oil tankers transporting Venezuelan oil and was reported to be pursuing a third. This lent credence to critics' assertions that Trump was seeking to topple Maduro so the US could get control of the country's massive oil reserves. 

Then, last week, the CIA carried out a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels - its first direct operation on the country's soil since escalations began. 

Maduro, accused by Trump and his backers of being the head of a "narco-terrorist" organisation pushing drugs into the US, had also said the US was after his country's resources. 

"Since they can't accuse me or accuse Venezuela of having weapons of mass destruction (like in the case of Iraq), they have invented a claim that the US knows is false," he had said. 

Maduro had also declared that the US was trying to unseat him and install a puppet government. 

(With inputs from Reuters and AP)