Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has said he cannot rule out the possibility of civil war as pressure mounts on him to stand down.
In a TV interview, he warned that US President Donald Trump would leave the White House “stained with blood” if he intervened in the crisis.
He also defiantly rejected the EU’s Sunday deadline to call snap elections.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president and won the backing of the US and others.
Mr Guaidó said on Sunday he would build an international coalition to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuelans. But Mr Maduro has accused him of organising a coup.
What did Mr Maduro say?
In the interview with Spanish television programme Salvados, broadcast on Sunday, Mr Maduro was asked if the crisis in Venezuela could result in civil war.
“Today no-one could answer that question with certainty,” he said.
“Everything depends on the level of madness and aggressiveness of the northern empire (the US) and its Western allies.
Source: BBC