Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire” Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast .

Maduro delivered the remarks while holding the sword of Simón Bolívar at a rally where video showed him singing and dancing to a recording of American singer Bobby McFerrin’s late-80s hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

Maduro told supporters that Venezuelans must stay alert as tensions with Washington escalate.

“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,” he said in a translated interpretation.

“With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running

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