WASHINGTON \u2014 A top American diplomat said the United States would not prosecute or otherwise seek to punish President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of Venezuela if he voluntarily left power, despite bringing his country to the verge of economic collapse and humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n

Elliott Abrams, the State Department\u2019s special envoy for Venezuela, said he had seen no indication that Mr. Maduro was willing to step down. But his offer of amnesty was a message to Mr. Maduro after both countries\u2019 leaders described high-level talks that Mr. Abrams unequivocally said did not happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a persecution,\u201d Mr. Abrams said of Mr. Maduro on Tuesday evening in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re not after him. We want him to have a dignified exit and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to prosecute you; we don\u2019t want to persecute you. We want you to leave power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Treasury Department last year accused Mr. Maduro of profiting from illegal drug trafficking<\/a> in Venezuela but did not recommend charges.<\/p>\n

The softer, if pragmatic, appeal sharply contrasted with the eight months of sanctions, international isolation and threats by the Trump administration of military intervention against Mr. Maduro and his loyalists, who are accused of hoarding power and manipulating elections last year.<\/p>\n

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Opposition leaders in Venezuela have not offered immunity to Mr. Maduro, whom they accuse of prospering in a corrupt government that has left many Venezuelans without food, electricity or medical supplies.<\/p>\n

In the interview, Mr. Abrams sought to clarify widespread confusion over the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to force Mr. Maduro from his presidency.<\/p>\n

Last week, asked about news reports of secret talks between Washington and Caracas, Mr. Trump said the White House was in touch<\/a> with Mr. Maduro\u2019s government, \u201cat a very high level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hours later, Mr. Maduro confirmed that he had directly authorized his officials to engage in secret meetings with the Trump administration. \u201cSure, there\u2019s been contact and we\u2019ll continue having contact,\u201d he said in a national broadcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Mr. Abrams said that was not true.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe notion that we are negotiating is just flat-out wrong,\u201d Mr. Abrams said. \u201cAnd the notion that there is a pattern of communication is wrong. There are intermittent messages and I think people would find the very occasional message sent from Washington to be completely predictable: \u2018You need to return to democracy. Maduro needs to leave power.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The comments are likely to soothe Venezuela\u2019s opposition leaders, who have privately said Mr. Trump\u2019s statement risked sidelining their own negotiations. A delegation headed by the opposition\u2019s chief political negotiator, Stalin Gonz\u00e1lez, traveled to Washington last week to press American officials on the Trump administration\u2019s policy in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Mr. Abrams said he did not currently see any value in talking directly to Mr. Maduro\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

He said messages to Washington from intermediaries in Venezuela have been \u201cpretty rare\u201d since last winter, and the information they carried was dubious. Some may have been sent with Mr. Maduro\u2019s knowledge while others were probably not.<\/p>\n

All carried the same general message: that Mr. Maduro would continue to resist the international pressure campaign that is led by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n