Venezuela's Maduro calls for military exercises after Trump threat
Source: Reuters
#WORLD NEWS AUGUST 14, 2017 / 11:51 AM / 23 MINUTES AGO
Venezuela's Maduro calls for military exercises after Trump threat
Brian Ellsworth and Hugh Bronstein
4 MIN READ
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday called for military exercises after U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a possible armed intervention in the country, but Maduro insisted he still wanted to hold talks with the U.S. leader.
As Maduro told supporters in Caracas to prepare for an "imperialist" invasion, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence sought to calm concerns in the region about Trump's talk, promising a peaceful solution to Venezuela's "collapse into dictatorship."
The unpopular Maduro, struggling with a collapsing economy at home and increasing diplomatic isolation abroad, has used Trump's comments on Friday to reaffirm long-standing accusations that Washington is preparing a military attack.
"Everyone has to join the defense plan, millions of men and women, let's see how the American imperialists like it," Maduro told supporters, urging them to join the two-day operation on Aug 26 and 27 involving both soldiers and civilians.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN1AU1S8