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VENEZUELAN President Nicolas Maduro has expressed a willingness to hold face-to-face talks with US government representatives as US-Venezuela tensions continue to escalate with the recent arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group in the Caribbean.

Maduro made this comment on November 17 on his television programme Con Maduro, hours after US President Donald Trump said he was willing to speak with the Venezuelan leader, He claimed Venezuela had requested formal discussions.

On whether he would speak directly with Maduro, Trump said, "I would probably talk to him, yeah. I talk to everybody,"