Nicolás Maduro says he is ready for a direct dialogue with the United States

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Credit: Carolina Cabral / Getty Images

(CNN Spanish) - In an exclusive interview with the Washington Post, Nicolás Maduro said that in Venezuela there could be changes if the United States has a direct channel of communication with him.

"If there is respect among governments, however great the United States is, with respect and dialogue, with truthful information exchange and communication, rest assured that a new type of relationship can be built," he said. “In a relationship of respect and dialogue, everything is win-win. In a confrontational relationship, everything is lose-lose. That is the formula. ”

On this, CNN is trying to get reaction from the United States authorities.

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Maduro also ruled out in the interview that presidential elections are held at some time nearby. However, he said he is still willing to sit down with Juan Guaidó, whom the United States and some 60 other countries recognize as interim president, but without leaving power.

CNN has not yet been able to obtain a comment from Guaidó or his press team on Maduro's statements. Also, Guaidó and his team did not respond to requests for reaction from the Post.

According to the article, Maduro said he knew of the plan of April 30, 2019 to take him out of power 10 days before it happened, but that he “let it happen anyway” and asked “his loyal officers to act as potential traitors to discover how extensive the conspiracy against him was. ”

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The Post highlights that the opposition's plan was to recruit Chavez officers such as Maikel Moreno, head of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López.

In Maduro's version, these and other officials had come to him with details of the plan. On April 20, according to Maduro, he was informed that Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera, former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), had betrayed him and recommended that he relieve him of his position, but allowed him to continue “ to see how far the conspiracy could go. ”

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Christopher Figuera, who is currently in exile, told the Post that Maduro's statements about the April 30 conspiracy are "false" and that Maduro had no knowledge of the conspiracy against him.

When referring to what happened in the National Assembly on January 5, when some opposition deserters and Chavez deputies, with the support of the National Guard, tried to prevent the re-election of Juan Guaidó as president of the National Assembly and then the dissident opponent Luis Parra was sworn in as president of the legislative body without a registered vote and without a quorum, Maduro said it is Guaidó's fault.

“Juan Guaidó is responsible for losing the assembly. He and his mistakes. Don't blame me now. He is the one who now has to respond to the United States. ”

Given the tense relations and sanctions that the United States and the European Union have imposed on the Nicolás Maduro regime, he responded to the Washington Post: “I do not care a bit or what Europe does or what the United States does. We don't care at all. We only care what we do ... For a thousand penalties they put in, they won't stop us, not even Venezuela. ”

Maduro also told the Post that he has tried to approach Trump and acknowledged that in 2018 he had a phone call in which the representative for Texas, Peter Sessions of the Republican party was and that on that call was Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph W Giuliani.

"Of course, at that time his proximity to Trump was known as his lawyer," Maduro said. “We knew he was a person who could carry that message directly. At this moment I don't know why many things have happened with the Ukraine and the impeachment. ”

The Washington Post article ends with Maduro's opinion regarding a hypothetical naval blockade of oil destined for Cuba, "I think that is not in the best interest of the United States and less," he said. “It would create an environment of great tension throughout the Caribbean region and would be detrimental to the interests of all the governments that are part of this community. I hope it doesn't happen. ”

With the support of Juan Carlos López and Osmary Hernández.

Nicolás MaduroWashington Post