OREANDA-NEWS  Venezuela is open to discussing an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, and also allows the possibility of American investments in its oil sector, said the president of the South American country, Nicolas Maduro.

"The U.S. government knows because we have told many of their representatives that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement on combating drug trafficking, we are ready," Maduro said in an interview aired on state television, as quoted by the Associated Press.

The president added that if the United States "wants oil," then "Venezuela is ready for American investments, as in the case of Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it, and however they want it."

The agency points out that Chevron is the only major oil company exporting Venezuelan oil to the United States.

The United States has been conducting a pressure campaign on Venezuela for months, which includes the deployment of thousands of troops and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, strikes against suspected drug traffickers and threats against Maduro.