Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called Friday on the United States to exchange ambassadors just days after expelling three American diplomats from the country . The request came during an hours-long news conference aired on state-run TV , where Maduro called on President Barack Obama to begin talks , even as he repeatedly accused the United States of interfering in Venezuelan internal affairs and stoking sometimes violent anti-government protests in recent days . `` I call for a dialogue with you , Obama , '' Maduro said . `` You can designate ( U.S. Secretary of State John ) Kerry or whoever you want to come to this dialogue and I will send my foreign minister ... for this high-level meeting . '' At the same time , Maduro accused Obama of failing to live up to a commitment not to `` interfere with Venezuelan affairs . '' `` What you have said has not been carried out , '' he said . The United States and Venezuela have not had resident ambassadors since 2010 , although they have maintained diplomatic missions and active embassies . Maduro 's call to exchange ambassadors comes after his government accused American diplomats of using a visa program as cover to meet with with youth organizers at private universities `` for training , financing and creating youth organizations through which violence is promoted in Venezuela . '' The expulsion , which President Nicolas Maduro first announced Sunday , comes after the State Department expressed concerns about rising tensions in Venezuela . Maduro 's news conference comes amid questions of whether he can hold onto control of the country amid rising demonstrations . Venezuela 's western state of Tachira became a flashpoint Friday between anti-government protesters and security forces . Protesters blocked off some of the main roads in the capital , San Cristobal , public transportation was paralyzed , and few businesses were open . Maduro 's government has responded strongly to protests in Tachira as he faces the largest demonstrations since coming to power almost a year ago . The country 's interior minister , Miguel Rodriguez Torres , has announced a new plan to restore order in Tachira , which , he said , may include sending a battalion of paratroopers there . `` This battalion will reinforce the units that find themselves on the major roadways that converge in this city , '' Rodriguez said Thursday . The military is necessary because the government believes that people from across the border in Colombia are crossing into Tachira to make trouble , Rodriguez said . Meanwhile , the government on Friday said that eight people have died in the violence related to the protests and clashes . Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said another 137 have been injured . Four people were killed in Caracas , two in Carabobo state , one in Sucre state and one in Lara state , he said . The government and the opposition blame each other for the deaths . Maduro singled out one opposition leader , Leopoldo Lopez , as responsible for calling for the protests . Lopez turned himself in to authorities this week , and he was charged Thursday with arson and conspiracy . More serious charges of murder and terrorism were dropped . If convicted , Lopez could face up to 10 years in prison . The unrest . During the demonstrations , supporters of the country 's socialist government and anti-government protesters have flooded social media with reports of violence , making drastically different claims about who 's behind it . Since February 13 , more than 2,000 stories from Venezuela have been uploaded to iReport , CNN 's user-generated platform . Many of the videos and photos depict violent scenes between demonstrators and government forces . He also called out called out CNN , Fox and other U.S.-based media , claiming that they are encouraging opposition forces against the government . Alejandro Camacho Beomont told iReport that students Wednesday blocked streets and burned debris in San Cristobal , from where he sent photos -- and he said he did n't blame them . `` Even though I am always looking for peace to make a better place to live , I think people have the right to express themselves in the ways they can , and it is not easy to express yourself in this country now , '' he said . `` I support the protesters . There have been more than 15 years that the majority of the Venezuelan citizens are going through tough times . There are so many problems we have to face every day , and there seems to be not a sincere attitude from the high government officials to rectify ( them ) . '' In a nationally televised broadcast Wednesday night , Maduro described bullet wounds sustained by government forces during protests and showed videos that he said depicted opposition protesters throwing stones and setting buses ablaze . `` You think this is a novel ? This is the reality that you with your hatred have created , '' he said . `` If you do n't like Venezuela , leave . ''
Nicolas Maduro calls for dialogue with the United States . Venezuela 's government says many people have been killed in the violence . The western city of Tachira is a flashpoint of the violence . The US is considering sending more troops to Venezuela .