CARACAS (Realist English). Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has said recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about “reclaiming” Venezuelan land and oil have laid bare Washington’s true intentions, accusing the United States of pursuing regime change and seeking to turn Venezuela into a colony.
Speaking at a rally in Caracas on Wednesday, Maduro said Trump’s statements confirmed long-standing Venezuelan claims that the U.S. is aiming to seize control of the country’s territory and natural resources. “This is nothing more than a warmongering, colonialist pretense,” Maduro said. “We have warned about this for years, and now the truth is clear for everyone to see.”
He dismissed Trump’s assertions that Venezuela had taken U.S. oil, land and other assets, arguing instead that Washington’s real objective was to install a compliant government that would surrender Venezuela’s sovereignty. “They want to impose a puppet regime that wouldn’t last 47 hours, that would hand over the Constitution, sovereignty and all our wealth,” Maduro said. “That will never happen.”
Trump made the comments a day earlier on his Truth Social platform, saying the U.S. military buildup around Venezuela would continue until Caracas returned “the oil, land and other assets that they previously stole from us.” He later told reporters that the United States wanted back what he described as “energy rights,” claiming Venezuela had taken U.S. oil interests.
Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in the 1970s, sharply reducing the role of U.S. companies that had previously dominated its oilfields. Trump has since repeatedly threatened military action against Venezuela, portraying the country as a hub for drug trafficking into the United States. He recently announced a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers travelling to and from Venezuela.
In his speech, Maduro also appealed to Colombia to stand with Venezuela against what he described as external aggression. Addressing Colombian society and its armed forces, he called for unity to ensure “no one dares touch the sovereignty of our countries.”
According to a statement from the Venezuelan government, Maduro later discussed Trump’s remarks in a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressing that such statements should be “categorically rejected” by the United Nations. The comments, the statement said, represent a direct threat to national sovereignty, international law and global peace.
