There 's an attempted coup in progress in Venezuela , an attempt orchestrated and directed by political and financial elites in the United States . Outlandish ? Not if you ask Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro , who spoke at length during a news conference Friday night about his allegations of conspiracy , which others call conspiracy theories . His staff made sure foreign media , including CNN journalists , got an invitation . The news conference , carried live on state-run TV , lasted two hours and 28 minutes . It may have seemed like an eternity to foreign correspondents , but it was brief by Venezuelan standards , especially compared to Maduro 's predecessor . The late President Hugo Chavez would talk politics , economics , and baseball for hours on end . He would occasionally serenade Venezuelans while addressing the entire nation on live TV . `` There 's a world campaign against Venezuela , '' Maduro told correspondents . `` It 's a campaign to justify an intervention in the domestic affairs of Venezuela . '' It 's a talking point Chavez , who died of cancer last year , also made frequently . Talk about foreign invasion or intervention resonates with loyalists and galvanizes members of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela . Maduro , a former bus driver and union leader , spoke not only about alleged conspiracies involving an international plan to destabilize his government , but also about Venezuelan and Latin American history , United States politics , democracy , the right to a free higher education , free trade agreements , the Venezuelan opposition and Spider Man , just to name a few . He spent a good portion of the news conference blaming foreign media for what he called `` a brutal manipulation campaign . '' The campaign `` has created the perception in the world that Venezuela is on the verge of civil war , that here in Venezuela we have a group of docile students opposing an illegitimate government , '' Maduro said . The president had denied or revoked press credentials for seven CNN journalists the day before . At the news conference , he announced CNN could continue reporting inside Venezuela . The president also apologized on behalf of Venezuela for an armed robbery against a CNN team and said the incident is being investigated . At least eight people have died in the last two weeks in clashes at anti-government protests throughout Venezuela . Among the victims was Genesis Carmona , 22 , a beauty queen who was shot in the head while participating in a protest in the city of Valencia . Protesters complain the socialist government has mismanaged the country creating all kinds of problems including insecurity , shortages of food and basic products ( like toilet paper ) , blackouts and rampant inflation that last year reached 56 percent , according to the Central Bank of Venezuela . Maduro blames most of the problems on a foreign conspiracy . An opposition leader , Leopoldo Lopez , turned himself in on Tuesday after being charged with arson and conspiracy during the protests . Maduro says his government had to take the former mayor and presidential candidate to a jail in military complex `` to protect him '' from a conspiracy to kill him . Asked about the polarization of Venezuela , Maduro said `` there 's no democracy without a politicized people . '' Asked about why tensions between loyalists and the opposition have increased , he said , `` you the media have fanned the flames of hatred . '' The criticism against his government happens because `` he who leads gets hit the most , '' Maduro said . In spite of recent tensions , the socialists have had important electoral victories in Venezuela -- 18 victories at the ballot box since 1999 , according to Maduro . The ruling party obtained 55 percent of the vote in local elections in December , even though Maduro himself won the presidency with a margin of only 1.4 % . `` A win is a win , '' he said . In spite of blasting the United States multiple times , Maduro extended an olive branch , saying he would like to open a dialogue with the country that buys 40 percent of Venezuelan oil . A start , he said , would be to once again exchange ambassadors . He also said that as a child he would wear Spider-Man or Superman costumes and that he gets excited when he listens to blues music . `` I think I might 've been from Mississippi in another life , right ? , '' he said with a smile . Maduro is nearing the end of his first year of a 6-year presidential term and hinted he would n't mind staying longer in power . But he carefully clarified that he believes in democracy and has invited the opposition multiple times to talk . `` Dictator ? What dictator ? '' he said .
President Maduro shares the conspiracy theories of Hugo Chavez . Maduro says there is an attempted coup in progress against him . He has said he will not step down, and that if this happens, it would be a military takeover.