Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that he will not betray his country by yielding to Washington’s desire for regime change in Caracas, telling RT that he will not let history remember him as a traitor.

“I do not care about my legacy. There’s one thing I know for sure: I will not be remembered as a traitor, as a weak man who reneged on his historical commitments and betrayed his nation,” he said in an exclusive interview with RT Spanish.

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“I use every media outlet to urge the entire world – heads of state, heads of government, world leaders, social movements and the international community – to denounce and stop Donald Trump's insane actions against Venezuela. He threatened us with a military intervention, but Venezuela has not surrendered, and never will,” he told RT.

He added that as the world becomes “increasingly sensible and conscious,” “aversion” towards the US president grows.

Maduro said that the Venezuelan people were prepared to defend their “sacred” land from an US military invasion, but emphasized that he “prayed to God” that such a conflict will never occur. Trump’s “military aggression” must be rejected so that “peace prevails.”

Maduro also told RT Spanish that Venezuela’s vast natural resources has made it a prime target for the Washington-backed regime change.

“What ‘casus belli’ does Donald Trump have against Venezuela? Venezuelan oil. Venezuela’s riches – gold, gas, diamonds, iron, water,” Maduro said.

He warned in an earlier interview that Trump would be responsible for a bloody conflict that would mirror the war in Vietnam if he gets militarily involved in Venezuela.

In late January, speaker of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, Juan Guaido, declared himself the interim president of Venezuela – a self-appointment which Washington quickly recognized as legitimate. Several European states have since followed suit, but Guaido still lacks a bloc-wide endorsement, which was opposed by Italy.

Also on rt.com Maduro: Oil, gold & other riches behind Trump’s Venezuela crusade

Caracas has denounced the decision by Germany, the UK, France, Spain, and several other EU states to recognize Guaido’s claim to the presidency. The Venezuelan government said that it would have to “revise relations” with the bloc members that have thrown their support behind the opposition leader.

Moscow criticized the said countries for engaging in “direct interference” in Venezuela’s internal affairs. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Monday that the move was tantamount to “trying to legitimize an attempt to usurp power.”

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