Warning follows deployment of US warships to Caribbean, provocative overflight by Venezuelan fighter jets, escalating tensions

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Friday that his country would move to a stage of "armed struggle" if it were attacked.

Maduro told troopd that while Venezuela is "still in the phase of unarmed struggle," any attack would prompt a response from "the whole people against aggression, whether local, regional or national."

Maduro made the comments during the "operational and organizational activation of the entire Bolivarian National Militia," noting that Venezuela is in an "enlistment and preparation phase."

The country will proceed with "the deployment of the defensive, training, and retraining capacities of the entire population."

During "activation days," Venezuelans will receive training to defend the country against a US military deployment.

He demanded that US President Donald Trump "abandon his plan for a violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America, and the Caribbean. And respect the sovereignty, the right to peace and the independence of our countries."

It followed Trump's warning Friday that Venezuelan military aircraft would be "shot down" if they approached US naval vessels. That was after two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew above a US ship dispatched to the region to combat criminal organizations and "narco-terrorism."?

"I would say they?re going to be in trouble. We'll let them know about that ? if they fly in a dangerous position," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referencing the F-16 overflight that the Pentagon called "highly provocative."

Maduro maintained that "Venezuela has always been willing to talk" with the US, but demands "respect for our country."

Earlier Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said a deployment of US aircraft, including 10 F-35 fighter jets sent to an air base in Puerto Rico, threatens the Maduro government.

Gil said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is justifying the deployment "using as a pretext a supposed pursuit of drug trafficking," a claim Gil called "the biggest lie.(AA)

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