BBC Photo: Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab

Source: BBC News

DST News: Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab has accused US President Donald Trump of seeking to overthrow the Venezuelan government and turn the country into a “colony” of the United States.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour on Sunday, Saab said Washington’s calls for regime change were merely a cover to seize Venezuela’s rich reserves of gold, oil, and copper.

“There is no doubt the United States wants to topple our government,” said Saab, a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro, adding that the current US actions were the latest in a series of “failed operations” aimed at regime change.

The US, along with several Western nations, does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader following the 2024 election, which was widely denounced as neither free nor fair.

President Trump has repeatedly hinted at possible “land action” in Venezuela. Last week, he told reporters that the US was “looking at land now” after securing control of “the sea” — a reference to ongoing military operations off South America’s coast.

Since September, at least 43 people have been killed in US strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels as part of Trump’s declared “war on narco-terrorists.”

However, members of the US Congress from both parties have questioned the legality of the attacks and the president’s authority to order them without congressional approval. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump considers future land operations a “real possibility” and plans to brief Congress after returning from his Asia tour.

When asked about a potential US invasion, Saab told the BBC, “It shouldn’t happen — but we are prepared.” He added that Venezuela remained open to resuming dialogue with Washington despite what he called an “illegitimate campaign under the pretext of anti-drug operations.”

Over the past two months, the US has deployed warships, fighter jets, marines, bombers, drones, and surveillance aircraft to the Caribbean, describing it as part of a crackdown on narcotics trafficking. Analysts, however, believe the buildup is a pressure tactic to unseat President Maduro.

Maduro has accused Washington of “fabricating a war,” particularly after it ordered the world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to move toward the Caribbean — a deployment yet to be completed.

On Sunday, the USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as part of what is being described as the largest US military presence in the Caribbean in decades. The ship is officially scheduled to stay until Thursday for joint exercises.

Venezuela’s government swiftly condemned the move, calling it “a military provocation by Trinidad and Tobago in coordination with the CIA.” Officials in Caracas also claimed to have captured a mercenary group allegedly linked to US intelligence and warned of a “false flag operation” being staged in waters between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

President Maduro has previously accused Washington of orchestrating similar “false flag” plots — including an alleged plan earlier this month to plant explosives at the US Embassy in Caracas.