Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has said that he is willing to hold face-to-face talks with representatives of the Trump administration as US pressure on him grows.
Maduro made the comment hours after US President Donald Trump said he had not ruled out deploying ground forces to the South American country.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro - whose re-election last year was dismissed as rigged by many countries - of being the leader of a drugs cartel.
Maduro has denied the allegation and accuses the US of trying to incite a war to gain control of Venezuela's oil reserves.
Since Trump was sworn in to a second term in office in January, the US government has been increasing its pressure on Maduro.
It has doubled the reward it offers for information leading to his capture to $50m and launched a counternarcotics operation targeting boats it accuses of transporting drugs from Venezuela to the US.
More than 80 people have been killed in US strikes on suspected vessels since, most of them in the Caribbean and some in the Pacific.
Trump has been repeatedly asked about his government's plan regarding military action in Venezuela, giving contradictory responses. He stated that he might consider direct conversation with Maduro while simultaneously announcing plans to designate alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Maduro, meanwhile, has emphasized his desire for peace, stating, dialogue, call, yes, peace, yes, war, no, never, never war and that he is prepared to speak directly with anyone seeking dialogues with Venezuela.
Amid this backdrop, María Corina Machado, a prominent opposition figure, continues to rally for military defection to oust Maduro, criticizing his regime as a criminal structure.
