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 U.S. 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, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.”

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply escalating tensions with Caracas. The tanker was taken for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MACHADO REAPPEARS IN NORWAY AFTER MONTHS IN HIDING

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in an official statement, calling it “a brazen robbery and an act of international piracy” and accusing Trump of openly pursuing a plan to “take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return.”

The ministry said the action fits into what it described as a longstanding U.S. effort to plunder the country’s natural resources and compared the episode to the loss of Citgo Petroleum Corp., which Caracas claims was seized through “fraudulent judicial mechanisms.”

The statement argued that “the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela” have nothing to do with migration, drug trafficking, democracy, or human rights, insisting “it has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy.”

MADURO BRANDISHES SWORD AT RALLY AS HE RAILS AGAINST ‘IMPERIALIST AGGRESSION’ AMID RISING TENSIONS WITH US

It also accused Washington of using the tanker incident to distract from what it described as the failure of political efforts in Oslo by groups seeking Maduro’s removal.

Caracas urged Venezuelans to “remain firm in defense of the homeland” and called on the international community to reject what it described as “vandalistic, illegal and unprecedented aggression.”

The government said it will take its complaint to all available international bodies and vowed to protect the country’s sovereignty and control over its energy assets, declaring that “Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to seize from the Venezuelan people what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right.”

MARCO RUBIO SAYS TRUMP WILL NOT BE ‘SUCKERED’ BY MADURO LIKE BIDEN

Tensions between the two countries have grown following months of U.S. maritime strikes that Washington says targeted vessels used by drug traffickers to transport narcotics.

Reuters has reported that more than 80 people have been killed since September, and a separate Reuters report detailed heightened surveillance and security crackdowns in coastal communities affected by the strikes.

Late last month, Maduro appeared at a mass rally in Caracas holding the sword of Simón Bolívar as he warned supporters to brace for “imperialist aggression,” delivering a defiant address after Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land.

BONDI SHARES HEART-POUNDING FOOTAGE OF US SEIZING VENEZUELAN OIL TANKER IN RARE ACTION LAST SEEN IN 2014

Trump said he had not ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela as part of the administration’s crackdown on criminal networks tied to senior figures in Caracas. 

“No, I don’t rule out that. I don’t rule out anything,” he said.

He also left room for potential talks. 

“We may be having some conversations with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.

Since early September, U.S. strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have destroyed dozens of vessels. U.S. officials say many were linked to Venezuelan and Colombian criminal groups.

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Maduro appeared at last month’s rally holding the sword of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century independence leader regarded as the liberator of much of South America. He told supporters the country was facing a decisive moment.

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

Members of the “Coalition of the Willing” for Ukraine called for continued transatlantic unity as Europeans seek to exert greater influence in the peace talks with Moscow as Washington ups pressure for a quick deal.

“We are working to ensure that the security guarantees include serious components of European deterrence and are reliable, and it is important that the United States is with us and supports these efforts,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the virtual meeting attended by 34 mostly European countries.

Zelenskyy also said he had had “a constructive and in-depth discussion with the American team” that comprised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Generals Keane and Grynkewich, and Josh Gruenbaum from the Federal Acquisition Service, on the topic of security guarantees.

“Security guarantees are among the most critical elements for all subsequent steps,” he wrote on X, adding: “It was agreed that the teams will work actively to ensure that, in the near future, there will be a clear understanding of the security guarantees. I thank everyone who is helping!”

Other European leaders who attended the meeting also offered words of support to Ukraine, stressing the need for transatlantic unity and to continue to exert pressure on Russia.

US President Donald Trump has made it clear he expects European allies to shoulder most of the burden when it comes to security guarantees, with 26 countries already declaring they will provide equipment and assistance post-truce. France and the UK, which co-chair the Coalition of the Willing format, are also among those ready to take part in a so-called reassurance force.

But many of the plans are dependent on a US backstop, mainly in the form of air protection and intelligence sharing.

‘The coming week will be decisive’

One card the Europeans are holding close to their chest to exert influence in the negotiations they have been largely excluded from is the issue of the €210 billion inRussian sovereign assets they have immobilised within their jurisdictions and which they plan to use to fund Ukraine’s financial needs over the coming two years.

On Thursday, the European Union agreed to indefinitely immobilise the assets of the Russian Central Bank, a central element of the reparations loan to Ukraine, still under intense negotiations ahead of a make-or-break summit next week.

By doing so, the EU will lock the assets under its jurisdiction amid concerns that the US would seek control of the frozen assets and use them in a future settlement with Moscow as it negotiates an end to the war.

This is part of efforts made to assuage Belgium, where the bulk of the assets are held, which has rejected the creation of the loan over fears of retaliation from Russia and over unequal burden sharing.

“I updated the leaders on our work to secure financing for Ukraine for 2026-2027,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said after attending the Coalition of the Willing meeting.

“Our proposals are on the table, and the sense of urgency is clear to everyone. The coming week will be decisive,” she added on X.

A potential Europe-Ukraine-US meeting this weekend

The meeting on Thursday came a day after France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer talked on the phone with Trump to discuss the latest developments in the peace talks following a meeting in London with Zelenskyy.

“The main issue here is what territories and concessions Ukraine is prepared to make. That is a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people. We made that clear to President Trump as well,” Merz told reporters on Thursday.

“And if we now proceed with this process as we envisage, there will be talks with the American government over the weekend. And then there may be a meeting here in Berlin at the beginning of next week, whether the American government participates or not.That also depends very much on the joint drafting of the papers that are currently being worked on,” he also said.

Earlier in the day, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a conference that the initial 28-point plan drafted by Washington and Moscow that was seen to heavily favour Russia as it included a demand for Ukraine to cede the entire region of the Donbas, “is no longer existing”.

“We had some influence on it,” he said. “We have a new plan, which is a 20-point plan, and which has really changed. So do we have to be engaged with the United States more than before? Yes. Is it possible to find a common ground? Yes.”

Speaking alongside him, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte concurred.

“Do I think that when it comes to Ukraine, the US and Europe can get to one page? Yes, I’m positive. I think we can. Am I sure that the Russians will accept? I don’t know,” he said.

“So let’s put Putin to the test. Let’s see if he really wants peace or if he prefers the slaughter to continue. It is essential that all of us keep up the pressure on Russia and support the genuine effort to bring this war to an end.”

The 58-year-old engineer had secretly left Venezuela for Oslo in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country and after spending more than a year in hiding.

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Speaking in Oslo, the laureate described the joy of meeting her children – who live in exile – for the first time in about two years.

“For over 16 months I haven’t been able to hug or touch anyone,” Machado told the BBC. “Suddenly in the matter of a few hours I’ve been able to see the people I love the most, and touch them and cry and pray together.”

Machado greeted dozens of people from the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, where Nobel laureates traditionally stay, waving and singing the national anthem along with the crowd, which waved Venezuelan flags and filmed her with their mobile phones.

Later, Machado came down to the street and climbed over crowd barriers to hug and shake hands with people who had gathered in the cold for the chance to see her.

“After all these months in which she has been in hiding and her life has been in danger, I think seeing her together with the entire Venezuelan diaspora is a pleasure and a reassurance that she is safe, and it is also a way for the Venezuelan cause to stay alive and a way to put more pressure on the regime,” said Diana Luna, a Mexican-German woman in the crowd.

Machado’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, earlier accepted the Nobel Prize in her name and delivered a speech by her mother in which she said democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive.

In her speech, Machado said that the prize held profound significance, not only for her country but for the world.

“It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace,” she said via her daughter, whose voice cracked when she spoke of her mother. “And more than anything, what we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey: that to have a democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom.”

LAUREATE LEFT VENEZUELA BY BOAT

Machado left Venezuela by boat on Tuesday and travelled to the Caribbean island of Curacao, from where she departed on a private plane for Norway, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The source, who had been briefed by Machado’s camp, said her escape from the Venezuelan coast was handled by her security staff. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Machado’s travel to Curacao, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking at her hotel early on Thursday, Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela despite the risks she faces.

“Of course I’m going back,” she told the BBC.

A large portrait of a smiling Machado hung in the Oslo City Hall to represent her at the ceremony. The audience cheered and clapped when Norwegian Nobel Committee head Joergen Watne Frydnes said during his speech that Machado would be coming to Oslo.

Evoking previous laureates Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa, he said fighters for democracy were expected “to pursue their aims with a moral purity their opponents never display”.

“This is unrealistic. It is unfair,” he said.

“No democracy operates in ideal circumstances. Activist leaders must confront and resolve dilemmas that we onlookers are free to ignore. People living under the dictatorship often have to choose between the difficult and the impossible.”

‘A CHOICE THAT MUST BE RENEWED EACH DAY’

In 2024, Machado was barred from running in the presidential election, despite having won the opposition’s primary by a landslide. She went into hiding in August 2024 after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote.

The electoral authority and top court declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say its candidate handily won and the opposition has published ballot box-level tallies as evidence of its victory.

“Freedom is a choice that must be renewed each day, measured by our willingness and our courage to defend it. For this reason, the cause of Venezuela transcends our borders,” she said in her prepared speech.

“A people who choose freedom contribute not only to themselves, but to humanity.”

‘FRAGILE’ DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

In her speech, Machado said Venezuelans did not realise in time that their country was sliding into what she described as a dictatorship.

Referring to the late president Hugo Chavez, who was elected in 1999 and held power until his death in 2013, Machado said: “By the time we recognised how fragile our institutions had become, a man who had once led a military coup to overthrow democracy, was elected president. Many thought that charisma could substitute the rule of law.”

“From 1999 onward, the regime dismantled our democracy.”

Maduro, in power since 2013, says U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to overthrow him to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and that Venezuelan citizens and armed forces will resist any such attempt.

DEDICATED TO TRUMP

The Trump administration has ordered more than 20 military strikes in recent months against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and off Latin America’s Pacific coast.

Human rights groups, some Democrats and several Latin American countries have condemned the attacks as unlawful extrajudicial killings of civilians.

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