Maduro (above) recently told a rally in Caracas that it was their historic duty to fight foreign aggressors just as Venezuelan liberation hero Simón Bolívar did two centuries ago.
He was responding to Trump's warning that he can "do things the easy way … or the hard way."
Maduro addressed the crowd wearing woodland military fatigues and holding a sword said to have been used by Bolivar in the country’s fight for independence.
Maduro spoke of the Creator in his speech.
“I swear before our Lord Jesus Christ, that I will give my all for the victory of Venezuela,” Maduro said, vowing to protect the skies, mountains and plains of his country, The Guardian reported.
A huge U.S. military deployment remains in the Caribbean. Many observers suspect Trump may intend to overthrow Maduro, who is widely believed to have stolen last year's presidential election.
"I think that's going to be up to the president how far he wants to push us. I'm not sure that he is exactly interested in regime change, although that would be a welcome byproduct. I think that the president's moves against drug cartels and especially those designated as foreign terrorist organizations is absolutely right,” retired Naval commander Kirk Lippold told AFN.
Lippold says for decades the U.S. has done nothing to hold these drug cartels accountable.
"We finally have a president who has said, ‘enough, I am no longer going to tolerate 100,000 plus dead Americans every year at the hands of cartels and do nothing about it.’"
