Venezuela’s attorney general, Terek William Saab, has said United States President Donald Trump wants to turn Venezuela into a US colony.
He made these comments following Trump’s deployment of the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, near the coast of Venezuela on Saturday. Trump, on the other hand, has maintained that his country is tackling the drug cartels in the Caribbean, which enjoy the Maduro government’s support.
Trump said, "The US will go to any lengths to destroy the drug cartel nexus in the South and Central American nations, including Colombia." He also told Congress that the "US was in direct war with the drug cartel" in the region.
Tarek accused Trump of seeking regime change in the country to seize the vast amount of natural resources that Caracas possesses.
A close ally of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Saab said there was "no doubt" the US was trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government, adding that it was the latest in a long line of "failed" operations.
The United States, like many in the West, does not recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, after the last election in 2024 was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.
Though Maduro enjoys widespread public, military and militia support in the country, who are willing to fight for him in case the US mobilises its forces for a potential invasion, a move that seems a likely step in the coming days.
Trump has also repeatedly raised the possibility of what he called "land strikes" inside Venezuela and said last week that the US is "looking at land now" after getting "the sea very well under control". As many as 43 people have lost their lives in US Navy operations in the Caribbean, which they said were aimed at targeting the drug cartel members.
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