Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro took the podium at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, where he denounced the "aggression" of the US towards his country, but also offered President Donald Trump the opportunity to meet. "Venezuela comes here to tell its truth. I bring the truth of a fighting, heroic and revolutionary people," Maduro said in a 45-minute, rambling speech at the UN General Assembly. The embattled president blamed the country's current economic crisis on US policies. Earlier that day, Trump said he would "certainly be open" to a meeting with the Venezuelan president. "Anytime I can save lives and help people — if it's one life, I'm certainly willing to meet," Trump told reporters earlier on Wednesday. Maduro responded in kind. "I stand ready to talk with an open agenda about anything that Trump might wish to talk about ... openly, sincerely, honestly," he said. It remains unclear, however, whether Maduro and Trump will meet. Maduro: Venezuela is 'like Iraq' Both leaders may have expressed openness to dialogue, but at the same time they stuck to their hard lines. The US president also told reporters that "all options are on the table," when it came to Venezuela. "The strong ones and the less than strong ones. Every option. And you know what I mean by strong," he said, suggesting force could be used against Maduro. Read more: Multilateral approach needed to contain Venezuela’s refugee crisis, experts warn Likewise, the Venezuelan president went on the defensive, blaming most of the country's problems on the US and alleging that "the same blueprint of weapons of mass destruction used in Iraq" was being employed to depose him. Maduro repeated his claim that Washington had "prepared and funded" the August 4 drone attack on him in Caracas, calling on the UN to carry out a special investigation of the incident. He also accused the US of "financial persecution" and of imposing "illegal sanctions" on Venezuela. ICC proceedings The Venezuelan leader is facing mounting pressure from neighboring nations. Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru submitted a request on Wednesday to the ICC to investigate alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela. This is the first time that countries in the Americas have filed complaints against another member country at The Hague. Read more: Displaced Venezuelans fear for their lives in Brazil The ICC request said crimes against humanity, including torture and extrajudicial killings, had been committed in Venezuela since February 2014. While the complaint will not automatically lead to an investigation, it could help speed up an ongoing examination that the court was already processing. jcg/ng (EFE, dpa) Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.<doc-sep>Donald Trump has said he is willing to meet Nicolás Maduro if it would help ease suffering in Venezuela. Trump’s remarks as he arrived for meetings at the United Nations came just hours before Maduro arrived at the last minute in New York to deliver his speech to the general assembly. He had earlier threatened to skip the summit. “I’m willing to meet with anybody anytime I can [to] save lives, help people,” Trump said as he was asked whether the US would ever intervene militarily to remove Maduro. Later on Wednesday, Maduro tweeted that he had arrived in New York to address the general assembly. “I bring the voice of my people, I come charged with patriotic passion to defend the truth,” he said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later said that no meeting with Maduro was planned. Trump’s comments came just a day after Trump suggested Maduro could easily be toppled in a military coup, echoing comments first floated last year that some sort of “military solution” may be needed to restore Venezuela’s democracy. Earlier on Tuesday, the US imposed financial sanctions on four members of Maduro’s inner circle, including his wife and the nation’s vice-president, on allegations of corruption. Maduro has been seeking a meeting with Trump for almost two years and has watched with frustration as the US leader has talked with American adversaries such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian president Vladimir Putin while shunning Venezuelan entreaties. On Wednesday Maduro said he is willing to meet with Trump and to speak about anything the US government wants to discuss. Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, was a major corporate donor to Trump’s inaugural committee. Maduro also this year freed a former Utah missionary jailed for more than two years on weapons charges in a bid to draw close to the White House. Profile Who is Nicolás Maduro? Show Political career Nicolás Maduro has ruled Venezuela without two of the greatest assets possessed by his mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chávez. He has not been lucky. And he has no charisma. Chávez enjoyed an oil bounty and sublime political talents that secured his power at home and reputation abroad. Maduro, in contrast, inherited a wobbling economy addicted to high oil prices and a system of authoritarian populism dependent on showmanship and patronage. Oil prices tumbled and Maduro proved to be a fumbling showman, exposing the financial ineptitude and ideological hollowness of the “Bolivarian revolution”. This could have doomed his presidency, which began in 2013 after Chávez died, but the former bus driver, a hulking bear of a man who rose up trade union ranks, turned out to be tenacious and ruthless. Born into a working class family in Caracas in 1962, he left school without graduating and drove buses for the Caracas metro. He became a union organiser and early supporter of Chávez, who, after leading a failed coup, led a leftwing coalition to an electoral landslide in 1998. Maduro was the speaker of the assembly before serving as Chávez’s foreign minister from 2006 to 2013, a visible if largely silent presence as the comandante held court on the world stage. Chávez anointed Maduro as his heir before succumbing to cancer. The story of his rule – and Venezuela’s agony – is a determination to keep power amid economic collapse, humanitarian disaster and international condemnation. Since January 2019 his presidency has been disputed, with Juan Guaidó being sworn in as interim president, and recognised as Venezuela’s ruler by some international powers. Crisis after crisis has buffeted his government – hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, power blackouts, mass protests, drone attacks, defections, US-led sanctions – and Maduro has remained standing, resolute, implacable. It is a remarkable position for a man who, in a 2014 Guardian interview, described himself as a bit of a hippy and a fan of Led Zeppelin and John Lennon. “I never aspired to be president,” he said. “I always honour something that commander Chávez told us: that while we were in these posts we must be clothed in humility and understand that we are here to protect the man and woman of the streets.” Rory Carroll Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. But his desire for some sort of reconciliation with the US has increased as international pressure has been building on his socialist government at a time of hyperinflation and widespread food and medicine shortages. On Wednesday, presidents from several conservative Latin American governments are expected to meet in New York to sign a complaint with the International Criminal Court asking it to investigate Maduro on charges of crimes against humanity. Maduro has not attended the UN general assembly since 2015 and said last week he may have to suspend his participation this year out of concerns his opponents would try to kill him if he travels abroad. Maduro is probably on the plane from Caracas to NY after hearing this. Dream come true. https://t.co/aAyyDqafmy — Eva Golinger (@evagolinger) September 26, 2018 Trump said on Wednesday that all US options are on the table to help end the political, economic and humanitarian chaos in Venezuela – even the “strong ones”. “I just want to see Venezuela straightened out. I want the people to be safe. We’re going to take care of Venezuela,” he said, calling Venezuela’s situation a “disgrace”. “If he [Maduro] is here and he wants to meet – it was not on my mind, it was not on my plate, but if I can help people, that’s what I’m here for,” he added.<doc-sep>
UNITED NATIONS — Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro traveled to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday to "defend his country" as six nations accused him of crimes against humanity and President Donald Trump hinted at taking strong action. The surprise visit came after Maduro had earlier threatened to skip the global gathering, citing fears for his personal safety as his once-wealthy OPEC nation spirals into a brutal crisis and international pressure mounts for the socialist leader to step down. Maduro confirmed in a video broadcast on Venezuelan state television that he was on his way to defend Venezuela, giving voice to his country on the global stage. "Today we're stronger than ever," a buoyant Maduro said on a flight from Caracas. "I come filled with emotion, passion." It appeared unlikely, however, that Maduro would cross paths with Trump, despite the U.S. president's comments earlier in the day that he was willing to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart if it would help ease suffering in the South American nation. "I'm willing to meet with anybody anytime I can (to) save lives, help people," Trump said as he was pummeled by reporters' questions about whether the U.S. would ever intervene military to remove Maduro. On Wednesday, presidents from five conservative Latin American governments and Canada's prime minister met in New York and signed a complaint with the International Criminal Court asking it to investigate Maduro on charges of crimes against humanity. It's the first time that member countries have referred another country to the Netherlands-based U.N. court. They point to a human rights report accusing Venezuelan security forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests, murders, extrajudicial executions, torture, sexual abuse and rape on orders from Maduro's government. "To remain indifferent or speculative in front of this reality could be perceived as being complicit with the regime," said Paraguayan Foreign Minister Andres Rodriguez Pedotti. "We are not going to be complicit." Venezuela's ousted chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, meanwhile, called on the United States to advantage of Maduro's visit to arrest him on charges of organized crime, corruption and genocide. Maduro's trip came a day after the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on four members of his inner circle, including his wife and Venezuela's vice president, on allegations of corruption. Trump also suggested Maduro could be easily toppled in a military coup, echoing comments first floated last year that some sort of "military solution" might be needed to restore Venezuela's democracy. The newly sanctioned first lady, Cilia Flores, accompanied Maduro to New York. Maduro has been seeking a meeting with Trump for almost two years and has watched with frustration as the U.S. leader has talked with American adversaries like North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin while shunning Venezuelan entreaties. Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, was a major corporate donor to Trump's inaugural committee. Maduro also this year freed a former Utah missionary jailed for more than two years on weapons charges in a bid to improve relations with the White House. His desire for some sort of reconciliation with the U.S. has increased as international pressure has been building on his socialist government at a time of hyperinflation and widespread food and medicine shortages. An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled into neighboring countries in the last four years, threatening to upset regional stability. Maduro has not attended the U.N. General Assembly since 2015 and said last week that he might have to suspend his participation this year out of concerns his opponents would try to kill him if he traveled abroad. Trump said Wednesday that all U.S. options are on the table to help end the political, economic and humanitarian chaos in Venezuela — even the "strong ones." "I just want to see Venezuela straightened out. I want the people to be safe. We're going to take care of Venezuela," he said, calling Venezuela's situation a disgrace.