Panama City, Apr 11, (RHC), -- The presidents of Venezuela and the United States, Niclas Maduro and Barack Obama, respectively, held a closed-door meeting beside the official program of the Summit of the Americas, to discuss the escalation of tensions between the two countries.

The meeting was requested by Venezuela, as Maduro said he expects to deliver to Obama 11 millions signatures of a petition asking Obama to repeal a controversial decree against Caracas.

Earlier in March Obama signed an executive order, which claimed that Venezuela represented an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” opening the path to concrete sanctions against the Latin American state.

Every Latin American nation has openly condemned Obama's stance on Venezuela via regional bodies like the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) or the United Nations of South America (UNASUR). The heads of state of those nations have also rejected Washington’s misguided attitude at their interventions Saturday in the Summit of the Americas.

In an interview with EFE news agency, U.S. President Barack Obama had admitted that Venezuela “does not pose a threat” to the United States, explaining that the executive order labeling Venezuela as a threat was only a formality so the Congress could impose sanctions on the country.

The meeting between Maduro and Obama took place following Saturday’s historic meeting between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro.