Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Donald Trump’s top diplomat of trying to push the U.S. leader into a massacre with the deployment of American forces near the South American nation.

Maduro, speaking to reporters in Caracas on Monday for the first time in over a year, blasted the White House’s decision to send 4,000 troops and warships to the Caribbean in what Washington calls a counter-narcotics mission. Singling out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said the move risks escalating into direct confrontation.

“Marco Rubio wants to stain his hands with blood, with South American, Caribbean, and Venezuelan blood,” Maduro said, addressing his response to Trump. “Even if they put 10,000 missiles on our heads, Venezuelans will be respected.”

The operation includes the Iwo Jima Amph

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