Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez warned the United States not to interfere in Libya's domestic affairs.
"If the Yankees... invade Libya, they will face a new Vietnam, and oil prices will soar to $200 per barrel," Chavez said on national television on Sunday.
The United States lost about 60,000 soldiers in the Vietnam War.
Chavez said a civil war is underway in Libya and added that no one has the right to invade a sovereign state.
Thousands of Libyans have been killed since the first anti-governmental protests broke out on February 15. Demonstrators are demanding the end of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule.
Chavez reiterated a call he made on February 28 for the international community to establish a mission of intermediaries to settle the Libyan crisis.
MEXICO CITY, March 14 (RIA Novosti)
