Venezuela government blasts Trump’s ‘violent threats’

Venezuela’s government on Wednesday accused US President Donald Trump of “violent threats” after he said socialist leader Nicolas Maduro’s regime would be “smashed and broken” during his annual address to Congress.

“Trump offends and disrespects the Venezuelan people by proffering violent threats against its integrity and against the constitutional, legitimate and democratic government of President Nicolas Maduro,” Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters.

Trump was to meet later in the day at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who was the White House’s guest at the president’s State of the Union address to the US Congress Tuesday night.