Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza stressed on Monday that Caracas prefers diplomacy to solve the ongoing political crisis, but is ready for any scenario, and will retaliate if the United States chooses to take military action against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
“We are prepared for any scenario… If [the US] prefers the military path, we are ready to resist — we have an army, police, our people, and we are ready to destroy any army, no matter how powerful it is,” he said, adding that Caracas has consistently called on Washington to resolve all issues through dialogue.
The foreign minister continued by saying that the number of Russian military experts in Venezuela may be increased.
“Currently, there is a commission of specialists in Venezuela, of course, it can be expanded”, Arreaza told reporters.
Arreaza’s comments come shortly after Juan Guaido, Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president, told the BBC that he “will evaluate all options if necessary” when asked if he would welcome US military intervention.