Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said he is ready to meet with President Trump to normalize relations with the United States.
The embattled Socialist leader made the offer during a televised address Tuesday evening in which he confirmed reports members of his government have held backdoor talks with representatives of the Trump administration.
“We’ve had secret meetings in secret places with secret people that nobody knows,” Maduro said, adding that these talks took place with his “direct” authorization.
Hours earlier, Trump said at a White House event, “We are talking to various representatives of Venezuela … I don’t want to say who, but we are talking at a very high level.”
Recent reports said the U.S. had opened up secret communications with top power brokers in Venezuela, including a meeting in the capital of Caracas with Constituent Assembly president and alleged drug lord, Diosdado Cabello.
Maduro has offered to meet Trump in the past, but the latest pitch comes after the U.S. slapped more sanctions on the dictator’s regime this month in a pressure campaign to oust him from office as his country suffers from an economic crisis and widespread food shortages.
Venezuela cut off diplomatic relations with the U.S. in January after the Trump administration recognized National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as interim president. According to Axios, Trump has grown frustrated with the opposition after it was unable to topple the Maduro regime in an attempted uprising three months ago.
