Maduro has spent a fair amount of time shuttling between Caracas and Havana

[Zorro]

and he's now channeling his inner Fidel with these audacious claims about US government plots to assassinate him.

His desperation is becoming even more evident, especially with him alternatively excoriating the US and then inviting the US to participate in a regional dialog about the conditions in Venezuela.

I suspect there's a lot of behind-the-scene political maneuvering between pro- and anti-Cuban factions in Maduro's administration, but the complexity of the situation is compounded by the presence of Cuban intelligence agents within the government.