BOGOTA, Colombia • In an unusual morning appearance, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Thursday asked his military for “loyalty” and warned them that the United States was stoking discontent to create division in the ranks and spark a civil war.

Addressing several thousand troops in Caracas alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, Maduro said the Trump administration was playing with fire by trying to divide the armed forces.

“How many dead would there be if a civil war started here because of the foolishness of coup mongers and traitors?” he said. “And how long would the war last if there was an invasion? Because we would never surrender.”

Maduro rarely makes appearances before noon, and some local media speculated the video could have been prerecorded.

It comes at a time when Maduro, 57, is fighting for political survival and after his rival, self-proclaimed Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó, called for a military-civil uprising Tuesday that ultimately fell flat.

But since then, tens of thousands of people have been on the street calling for Maduro’s ouster — violently clashing with security forces.

The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence said at least 130 people were injured by buckshot, teargas and bullets on Wednesday and that a 27-year-old mother of two was shot and killed in Caracas as she protested in the opposition stronghold of Altamira. Since the beginning of the year, at least 55 people have been killed in protests, the organization said.

An anti-government protester throws a rock toward security forces inside La Carlota airbase in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for Venezuelans to fill streets around the country Wednesday to demand President Nicolás Maduro’s ouster. Maduro also called for his supporters to rally. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Ariana Cubillos