Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday asked Pope Francis to help in preventing a US invasion.

“May the Pope help us prevent [US President Donald] Trump from sending troops to invade Venezuela and organize a respectful dialogue with the opposition,” Maduro told a news conference in capital city Caracas, reported RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

The mass protests, which continue in Venezuela since early April, already have claimed more than 120 lives. Trump had declared that Washington was considering all scenarios regarding Venezuela, including military action.