Wearing his old army uniform and red paratroop beret, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez handed new Russian-made rifles to troops today, vowing Washington would not defeat his socialist revolution.
Venezuela received a shipment of 30,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles earlier this month just weeks after Washington banned US arms sales to Caracas over concerns about Mr Chavez's close ties to Cuba and Iran and what it called his inaction against Marxist FARC guerrillas in neighboring Colombia.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Mr Chavez, a left-wing former soldier who says the United States wants to topple him, has ordered officers and civilian reservists to train for a resistance war against US troops who he says plan to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"The US empire has a campaign around the world trying to isolate Venezuela so no one will sell us even a shotgun. This is an act of victory," Mr Chavez told troops after inspecting and sighting a target with one of the new rifles.
"We keep warning the imperialist US government that they won't ever defeat us," he said.
Washington dismisses his invasion talk as nationalist bluster from a tyrant who is eroding democracy and using his oil wealth to muscle in on neighbors. US officials have blocked arms sales to Caracas they say will destabilize the region.
Soldiers, sailors and airmen, in battle fatigues and faces daubed with camouflage paint, took turns marching up to hand Mr Chavez old rifles and receive new AK103 rifles - the first batch of 100,000 Venezuela purchased last year.
With Russian help, Venezuelan plans to build a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition factory near Caracas that will start producing the weapons in about three years.
Venezuela has already purchased ten Russian attack helicopters and plans to buy more. Mr Chavez said his government had also decided to buy Russian Sukhoi 30 jets to replace its US-made F-16 fighters.