Venezuela's armed forces reaffirmed their support Friday for President Nicolas Maduro a day after the US Justice Department charged him with "narco-terrorism" and offered a USD 15 million reward for his capture.
In a statement read out on state television, armed forces chief Admiral Remigio Ceballos said the army categorically rejected "the extravagant and extremist accusations" against Maduro.
The socialist president has increasingly relied on the backing of the powerful armed forces since succeeding his late mentor Hugo Chavez in 2013 -- particularly amid his country's economic collapse.
In his statement, Ceballos said the indictment of Maduro and other Venezuelan officials was aimed at diverting attention away from the re-election campaign of US President Donald Trump "who will go down in history as the most harmful and most irrational of American presidents."