Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro says he is open to talks with US after latest Caribbean strike

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he is open to ⁠talks with the US on fighting drug trafficking and offering ​American companies access to his country's massive oil reserves.

Mr Maduro's comments come days after US forces carried out another strike on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean. Strikes on what the White House claims are drug-trafficking boats have killed more than a hundred people so far.

“I think that we need to … start to speak seriously, with the facts in hand, and the government of the United States knows it,” Mr Maduro told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet in an interview aired on state TV network Telesur. “If they want to speak seriously about an agreement on combating drug trafficking, we're ready. And if they want oil from Venezuela, Venezuela is ready for US investment, like with Chevron, whenever, wherever and however they want.”

Mr Maduro said he had a “pleasant” conversation with US President Donald Trump in November but that developments since then have been “not so pleasant”.

Addressing the American people, he called Venezuela a “brother country” to the ‌US and a “friendly government”.

The latest US strike in the Caribbean killed three people travelling in a convoy of boats claimed by the Trump administration to be carrying drugs towards American soil. The US Coast Guard was searching for survivors.

Mr Trump has made fighting drug trafficking one of the top priorities for his administration, and came out swinging against Caracas when he returned to office. In addition to the strikes in the Caribbean, the US has also seized tankers accused of illegally transporting oil for the Venezuelan petroleum industry, which is under heavy sanctions.

Last week, Mr Trump said US forces had bombed a docking area for boats believed to be carrying drugs from Venezuela, in the first land strike against the country.

Long-time leader Mr Maduro has historically presented a hostile front towards Washington, which has accused him and his government of political repression and election tampering, as well as involvement in drug trafficking.

But as attacks near the Venezuelan coast have intensified, and with a direct hit on Venezuelan soil, Mr Maduro has attempted to strike a more concilia