Don't Want "A Slave's Peace": Venezuela's Maduro On US Military Threat

Venezuela does not want "a slave's peace," President Nicolas Maduro told thousands of supporters Monday about a US military deployment he said has been "testing" his country for months.

US President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Maduro with a major naval build-up in the Caribbean, launching strikes on suspected drug-ferrying boats and making ominous warnings to avoid Venezuelan airspace.

"We want peace, but peace with sovereignty, equality, freedom! We do not want a slave's peace, nor the peace of colonies!" Maduro said at a rally in Caracas, even as Trump was set to meet his top national security officials to discuss Venezuela.

The United States has moved the world's largest aircraft carrier and other warships to Latin America and designated an alleged drug cartel run by Maduro as a terrorist group.

Since September it has launched strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that have killed at least 83 people without providing proof they were drug runners.

Rights groups say the strikes are illegal regardless of whether the targets were traffickers or not.

Washington says the aim of the military deployment is to curb drug trafficking in the region, but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal, and Maduro has ramped up his own military readiness.

"We have endured 22 weeks of aggression that can be described as psychological terrorism, 22 weeks during which they have tested us. The people of Venezuela have demonstrated their love for the homeland," he said on Monday.

Over the weekend, Trump upped the ante by warning Venezuelan airspace should be considered "closed," raising fears of imminent military action.

Trump said Sunday he had recently spoken with Maduro for the first time since returning to office in January, but would not give details. Maduro has repeatedly said he is ready to talk to Trump face-to-face.

Hundreds of regime supporters marched in Caracas Monday, denouncing US "threats" against the country torn by economic strife and political unrest.

"We are a free homeland, we do not want war, we want peace!" protester Narciso Torrealba, a 68-year-old community leader, told AFP. 

"We are ready to dialogue with whoever we need to, but never to renounce the sovereignty of our country, never to sell out the homeland," added Cirilo Cazorla, aged 54.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)