pressure on him grows. Maduro made the comment hours after US President Donald Trump said he had not ruled out deploying ground forces to the South American country. The Trump administration has accused Maduro - whose re-election last year was dismissed as rigged by many countries - of being the leader of a drugs cartel. Maduro has denied the allegation and accuses the US of trying to incite a war to gain control of Venezuela's oil reserves.

Since Trump was sworn in to a second term in office in January, the US government has been increasing its pressure on Maduro. It has doubled the reward it offers for information leading to his capture to $50m (38m) and in August launched a counternarcotics operation targeting boats it accuses of transporting drugs from Venezuela to the US.

More than 80 people have been killed in the US strikes on suspected vessels since, most of them in the Caribbean as well as some in the Pacific. According to US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, the aim of "Operation Southern Spear" is to remove "narcoterrorists" from the Western Hemisphere. But legal experts have questioned the legality of the strikes, pointing out that the US has provided no evidence that the boats were carrying drugs. The size of the US military deployment - which includes the US Navy's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford - has also led to speculation both in Venezuela that its real aim is to remove Maduro from power. (BBC)