Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the American government of manufacturing a crisis in an attempt to start a war in South America, in an interview broadcast on Monday.

"Everything that the United States government has done has been doomed to failure," Maduro told American broadcaster ABC News from the presidential palace in Caracas in remarks translated by the network from Spanish.

"They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America."

Meanwhile Spanish-language US television network Univision said on Monday a news team led by anchor Jorge Ramos was released after being detained at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, while interviewing President Nicolas Maduro.

The network said Maduro did not like the questions they were asking and confiscated the team's equipment and recording from the interview.

"I'm talking with @jorgeramosnews. He and the other members of the team were freed," tweeted Daniel Coronell, president of news for Univision.