Venezuelan President lashed out at US Vice President Joe Biden as he stepped up accusations of plots against his leftist government.

Venezuelan President lashed out at US Vice President Joe Biden as he stepped up accusations of plots against his leftist government.

At a rally with several thousand supporters, Maduro angrily accused Biden of going behind his back in talks with regional leaders "to announce the overthrow of my government."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the allegations were "baseless and false," and an attempt to distract from what's taking place inside the country.

"The Venezuelan government should focus on the legitimate grievances of its people, which include repeated violations of the freedom of speech and assembly, as well as due process under the law," she said.

Psaki also announced that the United States has imposed visa restrictions on more current and former Venezuelan officials who it deems to have engaged in human rights abuses and "acts of public corruption." The officials were not identified.

Maduro on Monday responded calling the new sanctions as "vulgar" and "offensive."

The attacks against the US vice president began on Friday, four days after Biden wooed Caribbean leaders who rely on Venezuela for subsidized oil supplies at a conference on energy security.

As Maduro prepared to leave Caracas for a meeting with Latin American leaders in Costa Rica, he charged that a "terrorist group" had gone to the Central American country to "try to threaten me."

On his return Friday, he went on television to say that at the meeting various unidentified presidents had warned him that the United States was plotting against him, and "to watch out for Biden."

"In Washington, they met with all the governments of the Caribbean and told them that the government of Venezuela was going to be overthrown."

"Vice President Biden, look me in the eyes: Is this what you want for relations with Latin America and the Caribbean?"