Venezuela’s Foreign Minister lambasted US Secretary of State John Kerry as a “murderer” fomenting unrest that has killed 28 people in the South American OPEC member nation.

Since street demonstrations began against President Nicolas Maduro’s Socialist government in early February, Venezuelan officials have been accusing Washington of stirring the country’s worst political troubles in a decade.

US officials say Venezuela is using them as a scapegoat, inventing accusations to distract from internal economic and political problems.

In the sternest words during the crisis from Washington, Kerry said on Thursday the Venezuela government was using a “terror campaign” to repress its own citizens.

We denounce you as a murderer of the Venezuelan people

“Every time we’re about to isolate and reduce the violence, Mr Kerry comes out with a declaration and immediately the street protests are activated,” Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said in a speech carried on state TV.

“Mr Kerry, we denounce to the whole world, you encourage the violence in Venezuela... We denounce you as a murderer of the Venezuelan people.”

After tense relations during the 14-year rule of the late Hugo Chavez, there had been some hopes on both sides of a rapprochement between Venezuela and the US.

Kerry and Jaua did actually meet in June last year, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of American States in Guatemala, with both governments saying they wanted better ties.