"We're ready for battle" - Venezuela's Maduro challenges Trump

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro led a rally in Caracas on Saturday to denounce recent sanctions on the South American country imposed by the United States. Rally participants - including Maduro himself - signed petitions that will be sent to the U.N. Secretary General in a show of opposition to the U.S. measures, according to Venezuelan media.

Maduro remains defiant in the face of increased pressure on his government. At the Saturday rally he said, Venezuela is prepared to resist, and it is prepared to advance and defeat the imperialist blockade of the racist government of Donald Trump. We are ready for battle. On August 05 Washington announced a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States, escalating an economic and diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at removing the socialist president.