US envoy Elliott Abrams had secret meetings with Venezuela diplomat, says President Maduro
- While White House sharpened its rhetoric against South American country, Trump’s envoy met foreign minister in New York twice, Venezuelan leader said
- Maduro hailed help from China and Russia and said Asia ‘buying larger volumes’ of oil every year would keep Caracas running
A month into Venezuela’s latest political crisis, President Nicolas Maduro said his government held secret talks with the Trump administration and predicted he would survive an unprecedented global campaign to force his resignation.
While harshly criticising US President Donald Trump’s confrontational stance towards his socialist government, Maduro said in an interview with Associated Press on Thursday he hopes to meeting him soon to resolve a crisis triggered by America’s recognition of opponent Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.
Maduro said during two hushed meetings in New York, his foreign minister invited the Washington-based special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, to come to visit “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 authorised to speak publicly said US officials were willing to meet “former Venezuela officials, including Maduro himself, to discuss their exit plans”.
