VENEZUELAN President Nicolas Maduro vowed yesterday to sue Washington over its classification of his country as a “threat to US national security.”

US President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Venezuela in an executive decree issued in March.

Mr Maduro’s United Socialist Party has since collected 11 million signatures on a petition denouncing the US action.

“We can’t have that decree around. It’s like the Sword of Damocles here,” Mr Maduro said, pointing to his neck. “We’re going to file a lawsuit in the US against that decree.”

“Why does the US go against Venezuela?” he asked.

“Because they know that Venezuela is going to go the international bodies to defend the truth and no-one is going to threaten us, twist our arm or manipulate us,” he said to applause from red-clad supporters at a televised address.

Mr Maduro was speaking hours after Mr Obama’s nominee for the post of undersecretary of state Thomas Shannon said that the US would lift sanctions if Venezuela’s opposition wins December 6 parliamentary elections.

“So much of our own relationship with Venezuela will depend on what happens around the legislative elections and what happens on the issue of political prisoners,” Mr Shannon said, in possible reference to Popular Will party leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has been jailed for inciting last year’s deadly riots against the government.

“The ability of the elections to be perceived as free elections and the vote count valid is going to be a very important part of how we manage the next step in the relationship,” he added.