CARACAS, Venezuela — Acting on the orders of President Nicolás Maduro, riot police officers and soldiers this week blocked a march of thousands of student protesters, doused them with pepper spray, blasted them with water cannons and bombarded them with tear gas.

A few hours later, Mr. Maduro invited the student protest leaders to sit down to peace talks, promising to listen and chat “with respect and affection.”

After more than a month of protests and bloody unrest, Mr. Maduro has tried to blunt the greatest political challenge to his young presidency in two distinct ways: He has projected an image of openness and inclusion, while simultaneously cracking down.

Mr. Maduro has repeatedly called for dialogue, even holding a series of televised meetings that he calls peace conferences. But with only a handful of his opponents attending the conferences, and with security forces striking out at demonstrators around the country, some of his opponents say that Mr. Maduro’s kinder face is likely intended only to deflect international criticism, which has come most strongly from the United States. They say his police tactics aim to provoke the demonstrators.