Maduro said that U.S. meddling in the internal affairs of his country has forced him to adopt the series of restrictive measures.

Relations between the two countries have been steadily deteriorating. Earlier this month, Maduro accused the U.S. of working with local opposition groups to stage a coup that involved bombing the presidential palace. Washington called the accusation ludicrous.

The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010. Nonetheless, they have continued to exchange diplomatic staff. On Saturday, Maduro said the U.S. has far more officials in Venezuela than his socialist government has in the U.S.

In an address that all Venezuelan television and radio stations were required to carry, Maduro addressed Obama directly, saying the U.S. president has "arrogantly" refused to engage in talks to resolve the issues between the two countries.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. President, that you have gone down this dead end," he said.

Also on Saturday, Venezuela released four missionaries from North Dakota who were detained several days ago. They were banned from the country for two years.

Earlier in the day, Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas in dueling demonstrations, with one group calling attention to a crackdown on government opponents and another showing support for the embattled socialist administration.

Government supporters marched to the presidential palace to commemorate the anniversary of a convulsion of violence in Caracas known as the "Caracazo."

In 1989, police fired indiscriminately on people demonstrating against austerity measures, killing hundreds. The event is widely seen by government backers as evidence of the brutality of the administrations that preceded the revolutionary government launched 16 years ago by the late President Hugo Chavez.

Opposition activists, meanwhile, gathered to denounce the Feb. 19 arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonioand the death on Tuesday of a teenager who was shot during an anti-government protest.

The protesters demanded that authorities release Ledezma, who is being held on charges of conspiring in what Maduro has called a U.S.-backed coup plot.

As evidence against Ledezma, Maduro's administration pointed to the mayor's signature on an opposition document calling for a "national transition." On Saturday, opposition leaders urged Caracas residents to sign the document, saying the government can't arrest the whole city.

The administration has opened cases against 33 of the country's 50 opposition mayors, according to the Venezuelan Mayors Association.

In San Cristobal, where the 14-year-old was fatally shot this week during an anti-government protest, thousands of people massed in the streets of the Andean town known for sparking the country's protest movements. Hard-line opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was among the marchers wearing T-shirts printed with an image of the slain boy's face.

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Hannah Dreier on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hannahdreier (**)

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