Sword-Wielding Maduro Vows to ‘Smash the Teeth’ of US After Seizure of Venezuelan Oil Tanker

Sword-wielding Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro tore into the U.S. during remarks to supporters this week, vowing to “smash the teeth of the North American empire” while singing and dancing on stage.

The striking remarks this week came on the heels of the U.S. military seizing a Venezuelan oil vessel off the coast of the South American country, and President Donald Trump’s comment that Uncle Sam might be keeping the oil.

Brandishing the sword of Simón Bolívar during a fiery speech on Wednesday, Maduro sang a rendition of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” danced, and urged Venezuelans to fight back.

“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,” he said in a diatribe translated by Fox News. “With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.”

The U.S. military seized the sanctioned oil tanker on Wednesday in what’s been seen as a major escalation as relations between the U.S. and Venezuela sour.

The seizure came amid repeated U.S. strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea, which have so far killed over 80 people and created a growing scandal around the killing of those who survived the strikes.

Trump has raised the possibility of strikes on land and possibly boots on the ground in Venezuela in his ongoing bid to stop “narco terrorism” in the area.

Watch above via Fox News.