CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's government is energetically rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's talk of a potential "military option" to resolve the country's political crisis, calling it the most egregious act of belligerence against Venezuela in a century and a threat to Latin America's stability.

  

The response came in a statement read Saturday by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in a meeting with foreign diplomats. They included Lee McClenny, the head of the U.S. embassy in Caracas.

  

Arreaza called Trump the "boss of the empire" and said his comments fit a pattern of aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty and violate international law and the U.N. charter.

  

Arreaza accused Washington of seeking to destabilize and divide Latin America and the Caribbean. He also thanked several governments, including ones recently critical of President Nicolas Maduro, for condemning Trump's comments.

  

Arreaza called on "good-minded" Venezuelans to put aside their political differences and unite in rejecting Trump's comments.