Venezuela's Maduro Claims The Country Has 'Four Months Worth Of Food And Three Of Medicine, Just In Case'

Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro said the country has "four months worth of food and three of medicine, just in case" the U.S. escalates its pressure campaign against the South American country.

Elsewhere, Maduro said the country is prepared "to knock the teeth out of the North American empire if necessary," as tensions between the country escalated further on Wednesday following the seizure of a tanker off its coast.

Speaking at a rally in Caracas, Maduro urged supporters to remain ready for confrontation. "The same productive hands we have are the hands that grab rifles, tanks, missiles to defend this sacred land from any invading empire," he said, calling on Venezuelans to stand "as warriors."

Trump, in turn, announced the seizure at the White House on Wednesday, claiming the vessel is "the biggest ever seen." Bloomberg highlighted that most of Venezuela's oil goes to China through intermediaries and at steep discounts as a result of sanctions imposed by the U.S. on the country.

Members of the Venezuelan regime have claimed that the U.S.'s pressure campaign against the country is focused on seizing its natural resources. The Trump administration, in turn, says it's seeking to prevent drugs that leave Venezuela from reaching the country.

Trump then added that "other things" would follow.

Maduro called the U.S. military deployment a "threat" and said global opinion was shifting against Washington. The U.S. operation has intensified since September, when Trump authorized expanded maritime actions against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. The U.S. has conducted more than 20 strikes in the region, killing over 85 people.

A New York Times report published earlier this week provides a striking contrast to Wednesday's more confrontational tone by Maduro as it reveals that he has been changing locations frequently and altering his communication habits to avoid a potential precision strike by the United States. According to the report, he has increased reliance on Cuban security personnel and expanded counterintelligence cooperation with Havana.