Venezuelan President Maduro brandishes sword amid rising tensions with Trump

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro brandished a sword and vowed to defend “every inch” of his country in a theatrical stunt during escalating tensions with President Trump.The socialist despot was filmed wearing a military uniform and wielding the weapon in front of a crowd of thousands in the capital, Caracas, at a ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the Sword of Peru to South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.“We must be ready to defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat or aggression, no matter where it comes from.The homeland is sacred, the homeland must be respected,” Maduro said, according to a translation by Sky News.He did not mention Trump directly, instead issuing a vague warning of “new imperial threats of the international far right.”However, the address came as Trump has repeatedly targeted Venezuelan drug trafficking operations.So far, at least 80 people have been killed in a series of strikes against boats in international waters accused of bringing drugs to the US, many of which had set off from Venezuela.The US doesn’t recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

International monitors also say his election last year — his third — was neither free nor fair.Maduro’s allies, however, have accused the US of carrying out extrajudicial killings and threatening Venezuela’s sovereignty in a bid to take control over the country’s vast reserves of oil and natural gas.“They want Venezuela’s oil and gas reserves.For nothing, without paying.

They want Venezuela’s gold,” Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez told reporters recently.It is the latest eccentric stunt from Maduro.On Tuesday, he was filmed seemingly copying President Trump’s signature moves as he danced to a remix of his own peace slogans during a student rally in Caracas.And last week, he sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” at a rally as he called for peace with the US....