In response to a perceived U.S. threat, Venezuela has rounded up 100,000 of its soldiers to take part in a massive 10-day stretch of military exercises across the entire country (one such instance is captured in the video above).

Last week the United States officially declared the South American country a national security threat and leveled sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials.

The officials are accused of human rights abuses and corruption.

In an announcement Saturday, Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the sanctions are an “imminent danger for us” and detailed the exercises themselves, which will take place south of Caracas and along the Caribbean coast where troops will test out air defenses as well as anti-aircraft systems. Their arsenal boasts Chinese amphibian weapons, Russian-built missiles, and other defense technology.

In a televised address on Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro supported the defensive rehearsal while trashing the United States’ and its actions.

“We have a military that is the best guarantee for peace,” he said. “The insolent boot of imperialism dared touch the sacred land of Venezuela, that day if we had to fight for the dignity of our country, we would do it for peace and for the sovereignty and the integrity [of the country].”

RT