Carrying their national flags, supporters of the Venezuelan government marched on Tuesday through the streets of southwestern Caracas in support of President Nicolás Maduro and to commemorate the nineteenth-century independence struggles.

It comes amid rising tensions with the United States which Venezuela has accused of planning a military attack to provoke regime change in the South American nation.

“We must be ready to defend every inch of this blessed land from any imperialist threat or aggression, no matter where it comes from,” Maduro said, dressed in camouflage fatigues, at the Venezuelan Military Academy after joining the final stretch of the so-called “civic-military-police” mobilization.

“Failure is not an option,” he added.

Since September, U.S. military forces have been conducting a series of strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in international waters of the international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, including several boats that, Washington claims, departed from Venezuela. At least 80 people have died.

The Trump administration said the naval deployment is aimed at combating threats from Latin American drug cartels.

Maduro described the deployment as an assault on the nation’s sovereignty and part of an effort to overthrow him.

AP video by Andry Rincon