Venezuela shows off troops, weapons to defy Trump

Venezuelan troops and civil militias practiced rifle-shooting and showed off tanks and missiles on Saturday in defiance of US President Donald Trump's threat of military action and new sanctions on the crisis-stricken nation.

War planes, tanks and 200,000 troops of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) deployed along with 700,000 reservists and civilians as socialist President Nicolas Maduro launched two days of military exercises.

Police and troops paraded through central Caracas with what the government said was an anti-aircraft missile.

"The people and the FANB are defending territory and sovereignty," Maduro wrote on Twitter.

Trump warned earlier this month that the United States was mulling a range of options against Venezuela, "including a possible military option if necessary."

Top US officials later played down the threat. "No military actions are anticipated in the near future," said US national security advisor HR McMaster.

But tension surged again when the White House on Friday unveiled its first-ever sanctions to target Venezuela as a whole, rather than just Maduro and his inner circle.

- 'Financial blockade' -

The measures ban trade in new bonds issued by the Venezuelan government or its cash-cow oil company, PDVSA.

That could choke off access to New York debt markets and raise the risk of Venezuela being forced into default.

Trump's threat of military force meanwhile has bolstered Maduro's oft-repeated claim that Washington is plotting to topple him and wants to grab control of Venezuela's oil -- the largest proven reserves in the world.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said the armed forces support "all measures being implemented to counter the financial blockade."

In an address at one of the exercises near Caracas, he told assembled troops the drills were "for the defense of the whole country" against "imperial aggression."

- International pressure -

Venezuela's center right-led opposition and international powers including Washington say Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship.

Maduro's opponents accuse military police and pro-Maduro militia of beating and killing anti-government protesters who are demanding elections to replace him.

Protest clashes have left 125 people dead so far this year, according to prosecutors.

Maduro says the violence and the economic crisis are a US-backed conspiracy.

On Friday, he accused opposition leaders in his country of pushing for the US sanctions and called for legislative speaker Julio Borges to be tried for treason.

Maduro's communications minister Ernesto Villegas on Saturday called the new sanctions "a declaration of economic war that we cannot respond to in a conventional manner."

Maduro on Friday called an "urgent" meeting of American companies that buy Venezuelan oil and hold Venezuelan bonds to discuss the sanctions.

- Military loyalty -

Elected in 2013, Maduro, the political heir to the late Hugo Chavez, has hung onto power despite food shortages and social upheaval.

His grip is largely thanks to the support of the military, which holds vast powers in his government, including over food distribution.

The opposition has repeatedly called on the army to abandon Maduro but so far he has faced only low-level dissent.

Military analyst Rocio San Miguel judged the weekend's exercises to be "mere propaganda" rather than a meaningful challenge to Trump.

He said they aimed to discourage "any disloyalty in the ranks of the FANB, which is a worry for the intelligence services," and "to reinforce the anti-imperialist line."

Maduro this week pointedly highlighted his alliance with Russia, which has sold fighter jets and ground to air missiles to Venezuela.

On Thursday, the president warned the armed forces not to break ranks.

"This is no time for any fissures," he said in a speech to the top military brass.

"Never before has Venezuela been threatened in such a way."