Nicolás Maduro said his Chancellor had met secretly with the United States Special Envoy for Venezuela

Nicolás Maduro said this Thursday, during an interview with The badociated press, that his Chancellor met secretly in New York the special envoy of United States for Venezuela, even as the president's government Donald Trump he has publicly supported the opposition's efforts to overthrow the Venezuelan leader in the grip of badaults.

Although he criticized Trump's belligerent position with regard to his socialist government, Maduro said he hoped to hold a meeting with the US president to resolve a crisis stemming from recognition that the US government had given to the leader of the opposition. Juan Guaidó as president in charge of Venezuela.

Maduro said that when he was in New York, his chancellor, Jorge Arreaza, invited the US special envoy Elliott Abrams visit Venezuela "in private, in public, in secret".

"If he wants to meet, let him tell when, where and how and I goMaduro said without providing more details, he said.The two meetings in New York lasted several hours.

A senior manager Washington, who was not allowed to speak in public, said the US authorities were willing to meet "former Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, to discuss his exit plans."

Venezuela is plunging more and more into political chaos prompted by the US demand to resign from Maduro after entering a second term that Washington and its allies in Latin America consider illegitimate.

His opponent Guaidó burst onto the political scene in January as part of the first viable challenge for years against Maduro's tenure in power.

Two senior Venezuelan officials said the two meetings between Abrams and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza took place at the request of the United States. Officials were not allowed to publicly discuss meetings and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The first meeting of January 26 was described as hostile by those in chargebecause the US envoy threatened Venezuela to deploy troops and blamed the Venezuelan government for being an accomplice of Cuba, Russia and the guerrilla group Hezbollah.

When they saw each other this week, February 11, the atmosphere was less tense, although the meeting was held four days after Abrams had said that "the time for dialogue with Maduro is long gone. " During the meeting, Abrams insisted that stiff US sanctions would overthrow Maduro even though the Venezuelan army continued to support him.

Abrams gave no sign that the United States was willing to withdraw Maduro's resignation requeste. However, Venezuelans viewed the meetings as a sign that there was room for dialogue with the Americans despite Washington's harsh rhetoric.

With your conciliatory sometimes and combative in others, Maduro said that the only thing Venezuela needs to recover is that Trump pulls out of the country, which has the largest oil reserves in the world. He denounced the fact that US sanctions against the oil industry are causing the difficulties of Venezuelans, although the shortage of products and hyperinflation exceeding one million according to economists began well before the measures adopted by Trump.

"The infected hand of Donald Trump harms Venezuelaa, "said Maduro.

The sanctions ban all crude oil purchases by the United States, which was Venezuela's largest oil consumer to date. Maduro said it would offset the sudden drop in revenue by focusing on Asian markets, particularly India, where the director of the national oil company PDVSA was this week to negotiate new crude sales .

"We have been building the Asian route for many years," he said. "This is a successful route and the Asian route requires more and more volume and quantities of oil"

He also mentioned the continued support of China and especially Russia, which has been one of the largest providers of loans, investments in weapons and oil in recent years.

Maduro said that the support of Vladimir Poutine This risks transforming the current crisis into a geopolitical struggle between the United States and Russia, similar to some of the world's most dangerous frictions. Cold War.

In the midst of increasing domestic and external pressure, Maduro said he would not give up to ease tensions.

He said that US aid boxes in a warehouse on the border with Colombia are just "crumbs" after the US government froze billions of dollars in oil revenues Venezuelans and foreigners

"They hang us, steal our money and then tell us: 'Wait, here are some crumbs & # 39; and make a world show"said Maduro. Venezuela, with dignity, says: "No to the world spectacle". Everyone who wants to help Venezuela is welcome, but we are able to pay for everything we need. "

His opponents said that the 56-year-old former bus driver had lost contact with his working-clbad roots and accused him of ordering mbad arrests and starving Venezuelans. while he and his badociates, including military leaders. they fill their pockets with corruption.

However, Maduro downplayed his dictatorial etiquette, attributing it to a media campaign spearheaded by Western ideology to undermine the socialist revolution that started the deceased. Hugo Chavez.

He claimed that he would not resign and that he would have his place in history alongside other Latin leftists like Salvador Allende of Chile and Jacobo Árbenz of Guatemala who, at the over the last few decades, had been the target of US-backed coups d'état.

"I'm not scared," he said, adding that even at the military ceremony, last year's attack against him with drones loaded with explosives did not alter his determination. "I am worried, yes, but because of the destiny of our country, the destiny of our people, the destiny of our children … and it makes me full of energy".

By IAN PHILLIPS and JOSHUA GOODMAN, Associated Press