Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said Friday that differences with the United States did not justify a military conflict, urging dialogue after counterpart Donald Trump threatened to shoot down Venezuelan jets that threaten US forces.

"None of the differences we have and have had can lead to a military conflict," Maduro said in a message broadcast on all the country's radio and television networks.

"It has no justification," the president added as he denied Trump's claims that Venezuela, and he himself, form the nexus of a vast drug trafficking network.

Washington recently upped a bounty to $50 million for Maduro's capture on drug charges, claiming he leads a narco-terrorist cartel.

It has deployed several warships to the southern Caribbean in what was labeled an anti-drug operatio

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