Bogota, Colombia (CNN) Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has warned US President Donald Trump that he risks staining "his hands with blood" should he pursue military action in the crisis-hit South American nation.

Speaking to Spanish channel LaSexta Sunday, Maduro said that if Trump was in front of him, he would say, "Stop, stop Donald Trump, stop there, you are making mistakes that are going to stain your hands with blood and you will leave the presidency stained with blood."

Maduro also asked Trump for mutual respect and asked the US President "not to repeat Vietnam in Latin America." He added rhetorically, "So we have to go through a war to reconsider our relationship and our respect?"

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro waves a national flag during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019.

In the same interview, the embattled Venezuelan leader defied an ultimatum from European nations to call a new presidential election , after several nations said they would recognize the US-backed, self-declared interim president Juan Guaido if Maduro did not hold a fresh vote.

Maduro has faced intense pressure since Guaido's declaration last month, with the US upping sanctions on Venezuela and a number of Washington's allies recognizing the previously largely unknown opposition leader as the country's President.

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