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Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro says he is open to talks with the United States on drug and oil trafficking, weeks after a growing pressure campaign against his government.
In an interview with Venezuelan state television, Maduro said he was ready for dialogue with the US "wherever they want and whenever they want."
He also dodged a question about President Donald Trump, who said the US had attacked an oil facility in Venezuela, which was reportedly carried out by the CIA. The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
This comes as US forces have targeted ships suspected of smuggling narcotics through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific over the past three months.
In total, there have been more than 30 attacks on ships as part of the Trump administration's "war on drugs," with more than 110 people killed since the US carried out its first attack on a ship in international waters on September 2.
The latest attack occurred on Wednesday when two ships suspected of carrying drugs were hit, killing five people on board, according to the US military.
On Monday, Trump said the US had carried out an attack on a "docking area" linked to suspected Venezuelan drug-carrying ships, causing a "large explosion".
The explosion was caused by a drone strike carried out by the CIA, according to CNN and the New York Times, which cited sources familiar with the matter. If confirmed, this would be the first known US operation inside Venezuela.
Asked if he could confirm or deny the attack, Maduro said "this could be something we will talk about in a few days."
In addition to drug trafficking, Maduro also said he was open to talks on oil and migration.
Without providing evidence, Trump has accused Maduro of "emptying out prisons and insane asylums" and "forcing" their prisoners to emigrate to the US.
The US has also taken tough measures against sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
US forces seized an oil tanker near Venezuela on December 10, saying it was "used to transport oil sanctioned by Venezuela and Iran." Venezuela described this as an act of "international piracy."
Since then, the US has seized another oil tanker and pursued a third.
The Trump administration has characterized its operations against suspected drug ships as a non-international armed conflict against suspected traffickers, but legal experts say they may be in violation of laws governing such conflict.
The US has not provided evidence that the ships it has targeted are carrying drugs. But US Southern Command insisted again this week that "intelligence confirmed that the ships were transiting along known drug trafficking routes and were engaged in narcotics trafficking."
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