Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday. Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth." His speech at a military base in the northwest, where he appeared alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.
Earlier this week, Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection but it quickly fizzled out as a group of 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. Maduro had responded to that by insisting the military high command had reasserted its loyalty to him. "I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty ... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech broadcast on public radio and television.
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