months into a large-scale naval deployment near the Caribbean nation that has sparked fears of military attack. "From Venezuela, we ask and demand an end to the illegal and brutal interventionism of the United States government in Venezuela and in Latin America," Maduro told supporters in Caracas after counterpart US Donald Trump announced the seizure of a large oil tanker off Venezuela's coast.

Earlier Wednesday, Maduro's main rival Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. The United States has amassed a powerful naval force in the Caribbean and Pacific for what it calls an anti-narcotics operation, but which Maduro fears is part of a plot to overthrow him and control his country's oil. US strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats have claimed at least 87 lives since September, many of them fishermen according to their families and governments.

"We say no to interventionism, no to destabilization plans for regime change. Let the US government focus on governing its own country," Maduro said at a pro-regime rally Wednesday. Tankers shipping Venezuelan oil in violation of a US embargo have continued to navigate Caribbean waters, observers say, feeding a voracious market, mainly in China. (Bssnews)