Venezuelan official says ‘no doubt’ Trump wants to overthrow government

A Venezuelan prosecutor told the BBC that there is “no doubt” that US President Donald Trump is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government.

Tariq William Saab, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, says that Trump wants to turn Venezuela into a “colony” of the United States.

Trump has accused Maduro of being the leader of a drug trafficking organization, which he denies, and there are fears in Venezuela that the US military buildup is aimed at removing Trump’s longtime rival from power.

The US says it has killed at least 43 people in attacks on alleged drug boats off South America, and Trump said the US was “looking to land now” after “controlling the sea very well”.

When asked about the possibility of a ground invasion of Venezuela, Saab told BBC Newshour: “It shouldn’t happen, but we are prepared.”

He added that Venezuela “remains ready to resume dialogue” with the United States, despite its “illegitimate” war against drug trafficking.

The United States is among many countries that do not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, after the last elections in 2024 were widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. Opposition statistics at polling stations showed that its candidate won by an overwhelming majority.

But Saab said the United States wants regime change in Venezuela, accusing it of seeking to seize the country’s natural resources, including gold, oil and copper reserves.

US lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have raised concerns about the legality of Trump’s boat strikes and his authority to order them.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters on Sunday that future ground strikes were a “real possibility” and that Trump had told him he planned to brief members of Congress on future military operations when he returned from Asia.

Over the past two months, the United States has been steadily building up a force of warships, fighter jets, Marines, spy planes, bombers, and drones in the Caribbean, which it has positioned for a tough crackdown on drug trafficking and “narco-terrorists.”

Many analysts believe this is also part of a broader campaign of intimidation seeking to oust President Maduro from power.

The Venezuelan leader did it The United States was accused of “fabricating the war” Having also ordered the deployment to the Caribbean of the world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which has not yet arrived.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Graveley arrived Sunday in Trinidad and Tobago, a two-island nation off the coast of Venezuela, as part of the largest U.S. military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in decades.

It will officially visit it until Thursday to conduct joint training and maneuvers.

The Venezuelan government has since issued a statement condemning what it called “military provocation by Trinidad and Tobago in coordination with the CIA.”

Venezuela also claimed to have arrested a “mercenary group with information directly from the CIA”, and claimed that a “fake attack is currently underway” in the waters between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

A False flag operation It is a political or military action carried out with the aim of shifting blame to an opponent.

Venezuelan President Maduro has previously been accused of carrying out false flag attacks, including a plan to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas in early October.

Additional reporting by Ion Wells