Mr Maduro, 56, launched a scathing attack on Mr Trump’s confrontational stance toward his socialist government, while revealing he hoped to meet the Republican firebrand president soon to resolve a crisis triggered by America’s recognition of his opponent, Juan Guaido, as Venezuela’s rightful leader. He also revealed his government had held secret talks with the Trump administration, which was not denied by US officials. Mr Maduro said that during two meetings in New York, his foreign minister had invited the Washington-based special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, to visit “privately, publicly or secretly”.
He said: ”If he wants to meet, just tell me when, where and how and I’ll be there,” without providing more details.
He said both New York meetings lasted several hours.
A month into Venezuela’s high-stakes political crisis, Mr Maduro urged Mr Trump to remove his “infected hand” from the country that sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves.
He blamed US sanctions on the oil industry for mounting hardships even though shortages and hyperinflation that economists say topped one million percent long predates Mr Trump’s recent action.
Mr Maduro said: ”The infected hand of Donald Trump is hurting Venezuela.
“We’ve been building a path to Asia for many years. It’s a successful route, every year they are buying larger volumes and amounts of oil.”
The sanctions effectively ban all oil purchases by the US, which had been Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer until now.
Mr Maduro vowed to 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.
The Venezuelan president also cited continued support from China and especially Russia, which has been a major supplier of loans, weapons and oil investment over the years.
He warmed that the antagonistic views taken by Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin runs the risk of converting the current crisis into a high-risk geopolitical fight between the US and Russia that recalls some of the most-dangerous brinkmanship of the Cold War.
But amid mounting pressure at home and abroad, Mr Maduro said he wouldn’t give up power as a way to defuse the standoff.
He also reiterated a refusal to accept humanitarian aid, calling boxes of US-donated food and pediatric supplies sitting in a warehouse on the border in Colombia mere “crumbs” after the US administration froze billions of dollars in the nation’s oil revenue and overseas assets.
Mr Maduro said: ”They hang us, steal our money and then say ‘here, grab these crumbs’ and make a global show out of it.
“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.”
Critics 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 Mr Maduro shrugged off the label of “dictator,” saying it was an ideologically driven media campaign by the West to undermine the socialist revolution started by Chavez.
He said he wouldn’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 US-backed coups.
Mr Maduro said: ”I’m not afraid,” adding that even last year’s attack on him with explosives-laden drones during a military ceremony didn’t shake his resolve.
He added: ”I’m only worried about the destiny of the fatherland and of our people, our boys and girls. This is what gives me energy.”
The president’s extraordinary intervention comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Mr Maduro had shown signs he is starting to understand Venezuelans reject him as their leader.
He said that it “is not new” that Mr Maduro holds out hope of meeting the US president, but it reflects a realisation that his crisis-riddled nation rejects his “model of governance”.
A senior administration official in Washington who was not authorised to speak publicly said US 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 US demand that Maduro step down a month into a second presidential term that the US and its allies in Latin America consider illegitimate.
Mr Maduro, 56, is facing calls to step aside in favour of 35-year-old rival Juan Guaido, with Washington continuing in its mission to oust him as head of the crisis-hit country.
Since receiving Mr Trump’s support as interim president of the South American country on January 23, Mr Guaido’s authority has been recognised by 50 countries, including many neighbouring nations as well as the European Union.
His opponent, Mr Guaido, burst onto the political stage in January in the first viable challenge in years to Maduro’s hold on power.
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.
Mr Abrams’ appointment as special envoy last month signalled the Trump administration’s determination to take a tougher line on Venezuela.