WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday his government is talking to “various representatives” of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who also confirmed that “secret” discussions had been taking place.

In a nationally broadcast appearance hours after Trump spoke, Maduro said that talks had long been underway between high officials in his government and the U.S. administration.

“We’ve had secret meetings in secret places with secret people that nobody knows,” Maduro said, adding that all talks had been carried out under his “direct” authorization. “Sure there’s been contact and we’ll continue having contact.”

The Associated Press reported over the weekend that the U.S. has made secret contact with socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello as close allies of Maduro’s inner circle seek guarantees they won’t face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to remove him.

Maduro did not name any officials in his government participating in U.S. meetings. The socialist leader said that he’s ready to meet with Trump himself to normalize relations, an offer he’s made before.

Venezuela was one of many topics addressed by Trump when he took questions from reporters earlier Tuesday during his meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Trump, however, refused to say whether such dialogue is being conducted with Cabello, considered the nation’s second most powerful politician after Maduro.

“We’re talking to various representatives of Venezuela,” Trump responded when a reporter asked him whether the White House is talking to Cabello. “I don’t want to say who, but we are talking at a very high level.”

The U.S. considers opposition leader Juan Guaidó to be the legitimate president of the country.

An administration official told AP the goal is not to prop up Cabello or pave the way for him to substitute Maduro, but to ratchet up pressure on the regime by contributing to the knife fight the U.S. believes is taking place behind the scenes among competing circles of power within the ruling party.

At a press conference Monday in Caracas, Cabello shied away from discussing any details of the meeting and at one point likened it to “a lie, a manipulation.” But he also said he has long stood welcome to talk to anyone, so long as any discussions take place with Maduro’s approval.

Talks sponsored by Norway between the opposition and government have been slow moving and were suspended this month by Maduro.

Trump repeated Tuesday that his government is helping Venezuela “as much as we can” so that the country resolves its political and financial crises, which he attributed to socialism.

“Fifteen years ago it was one of the wealthiest countries. Now it’s one of the poorest countries,” he said.

The U.N. estimates that at least four million Venezuelans have left their country because of hyperinflation and severe shortages of food and medicine. </s> Beleaguered Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro confirmed late Tuesday that his top-level officials have been in secret talks with members of the Trump administration to try to negotiate his exit. Reuters reports the secret meetings first came to light after American media outlets reported that Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela’s most powerful and feared men, had been in “secret communications” with high-ranking Trump officials. “I confirm that for months there have been contacts between senior officials from Donald Trump’s government and from the Bolivarian government over which I preside—with my express and direct permission,” Maduro said in a televised statement. “Various contacts through various channels.” </s> ‘Various contacts’ made, says embattled president, amid reports he is negotiating a way to stand down

Nicolás Maduro has confirmed top Venezuelan officials have been talking to members of Donald Trump’s White House, after reports his second-in-command had been negotiating his downfall with the United States.

“I confirm that for months there have been contacts between senior officials from Donald Trump’s government and from the Bolivarian government over which I preside – with my express and direct permission,” Venezuela’s authoritarian leader said in a televised address on Tuesday night.

“Various contacts through various channels,” Maduro added.

Maduro’s remarks came after two reports in the US media claimed Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela’s most powerful and feared men, had been engaged in “secret communications” with Trump officials.

On Sunday Axios claimed that in recent months Cabello, the 56-year-old head of Venezuela’s pro-Maduro constituent assembly, had been communicating with Trump’s top Latin America adviser, Mauricio Claver-Carone. Some Trump officials reportedly considered that a positive sign suggesting Maduro’s circle was “gradually cracking”.

The Associated Press claimed Cabello had met someone “in close contact with the Trump administration” in Caracas last month and that a second meeting was envisioned. The US reportedly hoped engaging with Cabello would intensify an internal “knife fight” supposedly raging at the pinnacle of Maduro’s administration.

Observers of Venezuelan politics greeted those reports – apparently designed to destablise Maduro’s crisis-stricken administration by stoking paranoia within his inner-circle - with scepticism.

Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at the Chatham House thinktank, said: “I think what the US is trying to do is some sort of psy ops thing, trying to rattle people within Maduro’s administration.”

But on Tuesday Maduro confirmed contact with the US, which he painted as proof that he had been seeking ways “for president Donald Trump to truly listen to Venezuela and the truth of the 21st century Bolivarian revolution”.

Earlier in the day Trump told reporters: “We’re talking to various representatives of Venezuela. I don’t want to say who, but we are talking at a very high level.”

Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, described reports there had been talks between Cabello and Trump officials as “a very positive sign”.

“It suggests an understanding at the top level of [Maduro’s] government that this is unsustainable,” he said of Venezuela’s ongoing economic, political and humanitarian meltdown.

“I think what these people are looking for is some kind of guarantee [from the US] that they are not going to end up in a jail cell in Miami,” Ramsey added.

Maduro has been fighting for his political life since January when a young opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, declared himself Venezuela’s rightful president and received the backing of more than 50 governments, including the US and UK.

More than four million Venezuelans have now fled their oil-rich but economically devastated nation, according to the UN’s refugee agency, with at least 1 million people leaving since last November alone. </s> WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will speak at a conference on Venezuela in Peru next week as part of a campaign to force President Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

The Tuesday meeting will be a strong show of support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido from the more than 50 countries that have recognized him as the rightful president of Venezuela, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

In his presentation, Ross will give attendees details on a post-Maduro reconstruction plan for Venezuela. "We plan to attend and have a big presence," the official said.

Peru had proposed the meeting as a way to build support for early elections in Venezuela, and wanted Maduro's allies such as Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and Turkey to take part.

But none of those countries are expected to attend, the U.S. official said.

Washington considers Maduro a dictator who stole last year's election and has slapped a series of escalating sanctions on Venezuela to pressure him to step down. Maduro has refused and vows to resist what he describes as U.S. imperialism.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering a blockade of Venezuela. His administration has so far focused on diplomatic and economic pressure against Maduro while steering clear of any military action.

Asked about Trump's comments on Thursday, the senior administration official declined to give details.

"I would take the president at his word and I would take his word very seriously," the official said, noting the administration did not want to give away "the element of surprise."

The official said Trump's warning should have the effect of pushing Maduro to take ongoing talks with the opposition in Barbados more seriously. "He has a short window to find an exit strategy," the official said.

Norway, which is mediating the Barbados talks, said on Friday that Maduro's government and the opposition have reiterated their willingness to continue negotiating to find a solution.

Asked whether the White House would consider protecting Venezuelans in the United States from deportation - a measure known as "temporary protected status" - the official said the administration was committed to ensuring no Venezuelan at risk of persecution would be deported, regardless of whether the TPS program is used. </s> President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Wednesday cast doubt on President Nicolás Maduro’s claim that he is overseeing secret talks with the United States, saying it only reflects disarray within the Venezuelan government.

Guaidó spoke a day after Maduro and President Donald Trump said high-level officials in their respective administrations have been meeting about ending the South American nation’s deepening crisis.

Neither Maduro nor Trump mentioned anything about Guaidó, whom the United States and more than 50 other nations recognize as Venezuela’s rightful president. In his first public remarks about the matter, Guaidó said the Venezuelan government was dysfunctional and that its hardliners would be disappointed to hear about alleged talks with the U.S.

“What’s clear are the contradictions of the regime,” he said at an event in Caracas. “How many times have we seen how disorganized the regime is? If they’ve been effective in anything, it’s communications, propaganda, lies for years.”

Guaidó referred to a tweet Wednesday by U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who said Maduro must be removed and that the talks don’t involve him.

“The only items discussed by those who are reaching out behind Maduro’s back are his departure and free and fair elections,” Bolton tweeted.

However, Maduro said on national television Tuesday that talks had long been underway between officials in his government and the U.S. administration.

“We’ve had secret meetings in secret places with secret people that nobody knows,” Maduro said, adding that all talks had been carried out under his “direct” authorization. “Sure there’s been contact and we’ll continue having contact.”

Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, said the U.S. involvement could be critical in breaking the monthslong stalemate but that the Trump administration nonetheless should be careful not to overstep the delicate boundaries at play.

“The U.S. has not only an opportunity, but a responsibility, to use leverage it has to try and advance the position of the opposition and try and reach a deal,” he said. “It oversteps when it moves in directions that are clearly not aligned with what Guaidó is supporting.”

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been escalating since early this year when Guaidó, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared the constitution gives him presidential powers because Maduro’s election last year was a fraud. But despite his widespread international backing, Guaidó has been unable to loosen Maduro’s grip on power and in particular, the military.

The Associated Press reported over the weekend that the United States has made secret contact with socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello as close allies of Maduro’s inner circle seek guarantees they won’t face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to step down from power.

As he took questions from reporters Tuesday, Trump confirmed his administration is talking to “various representatives of Venezuela” but refused to say whether the White House is specifically talking to Cabello.

“I don’t want to say who,” he said. “But we’re talking at a very high level.”

A U.S. official told the AP the goal is not to prop up Cabello or pave the way for him to substitute Maduro, but to ratchet up pressure on the regime by contributing to the knife fight the U.S. believes is taking place behind the scenes among competing circles of power within the ruling party.

Cabello said at a socialist party event Monday that he’s long stood welcome to talk to anyone, so long as Maduro approves of the exchange.

“I meet with the owners of the circus,” he said, in an apparent reference to the U.S. “Not with those who work for them. The opposition works for them.”

Shifter and other analysts said that any communication between the U.S. and Venezuela is a positive sign.

John Polga-Hecimovich, a political scientist at the U.S. Naval Academy, said it’s unclear to what extent, if any, Guaidó is involved in the talks. If the communication is in fact unilateral between the Trump and Maduro administrations, it would make the opposition appear weakened.

“The direct dialogue speaks to the limitations of the opposition,” he said.

The development comes just weeks after the U.S. Treasury Department slapped tough new sanctions against the Venezuelan government that would target even foreign companies that do business with the Maduro administration.

Analysts said it’s not surprising that a backroom dialogue between U.S. and Venezuelan officials remains active.

“The situation is in such a deadlock that I imagine the U.S. is looking for a way to open other pathways,” said Venezuelan analyst Carlos Romero. “Ones that are less belligerent than they’ve used up till now.”

Associated Press writer Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro said in an AP interview Thursday that his foreign minister recently held secret talks in New York with the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, even as the Trump…

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro said in an AP interview Thursday that his foreign minister recently held secret talks in New York with the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, even as the Trump administration was publicly backing an effort to unseat the Venezuelan president.

While harshly criticizing Donald Trump’s confrontational stance toward his socialist government, Maduro said he holds out hope of meeting the U.S. president soon to resolve a crisis over America’s recognition of opponent Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Maduro said that while in New York, his foreign minister invited the Washington, D.C.-based envoy, Elliott Abrams, to come to Venezuela “privately, publicly or secretly.”

“If he wants to meet, just tell me when, where and how and I’ll be there,” Maduro said without providing more details. He said both New York meetings lasted several hours.

A senior administration official in Washington who was not authorized to speak publicly said U.S. officials were willing to meet with “former Venezuela officials, including Maduro himself, to discuss their exit plans.”

Venezuela is plunging deeper into a political chaos triggered by the U.S. demand that Maduro step down a month into a second term that the U.S. and its allies in Latin America consider illegitimate. His opponent, the 35-year-old Guaido, burst onto the political stage in January in the first viable challenge in years to Maduro’s hold on power.

As head of the Congress, Guaido declared himself interim president on Jan. 23, saying he had a constitutional right to assume presidential powers from the “tyrant” Maduro. He has since garnered broad support, calling massive street protests and winning recognition from the U.S. and dozens of nations in Latin America and Europe who share his goal of removing Maduro.

The escalating crisis is taking place against a backdrop of economic and social turmoil that has led to severe shortages of food and medicine that have forced millions to flee the once-prosperous OPEC nation.

Two senior Venezuelan officials who were not authorized to discuss the meetings publicly said the two encounters between Abrams and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza came at the request of the U.S.

The first one on Jan. 26 they described as hostile, with the U.S. envoy threatening Venezuela with the deployment of troops and chastising the Venezuelan government for allegedly being in league with Cuba, Russia and Hezbollah.

When they met again this week, the atmosphere was less tense, even though the Feb. 11 encounter came four days after Abrams said the “time for dialogue with Maduro had long passed.” During that meeting, Abrams insisted that severe U.S. sanctions would oust Maduro even if Venezuela’s military stuck by him.

Abrams gave no indication the U.S. was prepared to ease demands Maduro step down. Still, the Venezuelans saw the meetings as a sign there is room for discussion with the Americans despite the tough public rhetoric coming from Washington.

At turns conciliatory and combative, Maduro said all Venezuela needs to rebound is for Trump to remove his “infected hand” from the country that sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

He said U.S. sanctions on the oil industry are to blame for mounting hardships even though shortages and hyperinflation that economists say topped 1 million percent long predates Trump’s recent action.

“The infected hand of Donald Trump is hurting Venezuela,” Maduro said.

The sanctions effectively ban all oil purchases by the U.S., which had been Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer until now. Maduro said he will make up for the sudden drop in revenue by targeting markets in Asia, especially India, where the head of state-run oil giant PDVSA was this week negotiating new oil sales.

“We’ve been building a path to Asia for many years,” he said. “It’s a successful route, every year they are buying larger volumes and amounts of oil.”

He also cited the continued support of China and especially Russia, which has been a major supplier of loans, weapons and oil investment over the years. He said that backing from Russian President Vladimir Putin runs the risk of converting the current crisis into a high-risk geopolitical fight between the U.S. and Russia that recalls some of the most-dangerous brinkmanship of the Cold War.

Amid the mounting pressure at home and abroad, Maduro said he won’t give up power as a way to defuse the standoff.

He called boxes of U.S.-supplied humanitarian aid sitting in a warehouse on the border in Colombia mere “crumbs” after the U.S. administration froze billions of dollars in the nation’s oil revenue and overseas assets.

“They hang us, steal our money and then say ‘here, grab these crumbs’ and make a global show out of it,” said Maduro. “With dignity we say ‘No to the global show.’ Whoever wants to help Venezuela is welcome, but we have enough capacity to pay for everything that we need.”

Opponents say the 56-year-old former bus driver has lost touch with his working-class roots, accusing him of ordering mass arrests and starving Venezuelans while he and regime insiders — including the top military brass — line their pockets through corruption.

But Maduro shrugged off the label of “dictator,” attributing it to an ideologically driven media campaign by the West to undermine the socialist revolution started by the late Hugo Chavez.

He said he won’t resign, seeing his place in history alongside other Latin American leftists from Salvador Allende in Chile to Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala who in decades past had been the target of U.S.-backed coups.

“I’m not afraid,” he said, adding that even last year’s attack on him with explosives-laden drones during a military ceremony didn’t shake his resolve. “I’m only worried about the destiny of the fatherland and of our people, our boys and girls….this is what gives me energy.”

This story has been amended to correct the day that Juan Guaido declared himself interim president.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will speak at a conference on Venezuela in Peru next week as part of a campaign to force President Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

The Tuesday meeting will be a strong show of support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido from the more than 50 countries that have recognized him as the rightful president of Venezuela, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Peru had proposed the meeting as a way to build support for early elections in Venezuela, and wanted Maduro's allies such as Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and Turkey to take part.

But none of those countries are expected to attend, the U.S. official said.

Washington considers Maduro a dictator who stole last year's election and has slapped a series of escalating sanctions on Venezuela to pressure him to step down. Maduro has refused and vows to resist what he describes as U.S. imperialism.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering a blockade of Venezuela. His administration has so far focused on diplomatic and economic pressure against Maduro while steering clear of any military action.

Asked about Trump's comments on Thursday, the senior administration official declined to give details.

"I would take the president at his word and I would take his word very seriously," the official said, noting the administration did not want to give away "the element of surprise."

The official said Trump's warning should have the effect of pushing Maduro to take ongoing talks with the opposition in Barbados more seriously. "He has a short window to find an exit strategy," the official said.

Norway, which is mediating the Barbados talks, said on Friday that Maduro's government and the opposition have reiterated their willingness to continue negotiating to find a solution.

Asked whether the White House would consider protecting Venezuelans in the United States from deportation - a measure known as "temporary protected status" - the official said the administration was committed to ensuring no Venezuelan at risk of persecution would be deported, regardless of whether the TPS program is used. </s> Maduro says there has been contact with US officials 'for months'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Aug. 20 he had authorized contact with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump "for months," in an effort to repair relations with Washington.

In January, Maduro broke diplomatic relations with the United States. Washington imposed sanctions on high-level officials and Venezuelan state entities to increase pressure on Maduro and remove him as leader of the OPEC nation.

Officials from the two countries had not previously confirmed contact until earlier on Aug. 21, when Trump told journalists at the White House his administration had been in talks "at a very high level" with various representatives from Venezuela but declined to give details.

Maduro said he could not reveal details about which officials had been in contact with the Trump administration or what they had discussed, but that the goal of the discussions was to "normalize and resolve this conflict" between the two countries.

"I can confirm that for months we have had contact," Maduro said during an appearance on state television. "Just as I have sought dialogue in Venezuela, I have sought a way for President Donald Trump to really listen to Venezuela," he added.

Maduro and a delegation representing opposition leader Juan Guaido have been meeting in Barbados as part of talks to resolve a political stalemate in nation that is suffering from a hyperinflationary economic collapse.

This week opposition politicians are traveling to Washington to speak to U.S. officials, four sources told Reuters. </s> A senior administration official says National Security Adviser John Bolton and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will lead a U.S. delegation at an initial conference held by countries which recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela.

The official said Bolton will talk about the next steps for U.S. policy, while Ross will share a plan focused on reconstruction in the South American country if President Nicolás Maduro is no longer in power.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Aug. 6 meeting in Peru will include representatives from over 50 nations which hold that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent. Russia, Cuba and Turkey have declined an invitation to attend.
Nicolás Maduro confirms United States reports that top Venezuelan officials are having secret meetings with members of the Trump administration. Maduro claims that the talks encourage Trump to listen to him; United States sources claim that the talks encourage Maduro supporters to defect.