The South American leader has rallied troops after the US president hinted at launching land-based operations

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged the country's air force to remain "ready and resolute" in defending the nation, after US President Donald Trump threatened land operations in the region.

The Pentagon has deployed warships to the Caribbean and carried out strikes on small Venezuelan boats it says are used for drug smuggling - actions Washington frames as counternarcotics but which Caracas calls illegal. US officials have long accused Maduro of overseeing a cartel-linked regime and have hinted that direct military action could follow. Maduro, who says Washington is trying to topple him, rejects the drug-trafficking allegations and has warned Washington against launching "a crazy war."

Speaking on Thursday, Maduro said he was confident Venezuela would prevail if it were forced to declare itself a "republic in arms," ordering members of the Bolivarian Military Aviation to stay "alert and ready."

"I ask you to always remain serene, alert, ready and willing to defend our rights as a nation, as a free and sovereign homeland," he told troops. Maduro said 82% of Venezuelans had declared they were ready to defend the country "with weapons in hand."

His remarks came as Trump claimed the US would soon expand operations to halt Venezuelan drug shipments on land, offering no evidence for the timing or the scale of the threat. Addressing service members at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, Trump praised the Air Force's 7th Bomb Wing and asserted that US efforts had already cut maritime trafficking by about 85%. He said traffickers were "killing hundreds of thousands" of Americans with the drugs they send north and said land-based operations would begin imminently.

READ MORE: US designates supposed Venezuelan cartel as terrorist organization

The same day, Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that halted flights after a US aviation warning, further reducing the country's connectivity. The civil aviation authority said Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam, Turkish Airlines, and Gol had aligned with "state terrorism promoted by the United States" by suspending services. The carriers stopped flights after the US FAA warned of a "potentially hazardous" security situation over Venezuelan airspace, a claim Caracas rejected, saying the regulator has no jurisdiction.

(RT.com)