‘Bellicose, extravagant’: Venezuela slams Trump’s regime change bid

Venezuela has lambasted recent "bellicose and extravagant” statements by US President Donald Trump, in which he admitted to green lighting a regime change plan in the oil-rich South American country.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released a statement on Wednesday, after Trump announced that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land attacks there.

The ministry said that the US president’s order for acts against Venezuela’s peace and stability constitutes a grave violation of international law and the UN Charter.

“We observe with extreme alarm the use of the CIA, as well as the announced military deployments in the Caribbean, which amount to a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment against Venezuela,” it added.

"It is clear that such maneuvers seek to legitimize a ‘regime change’ operation with the ultimate goal of seizing Venezuelan oil resources.”

The ministry also warned that Trump is seeking to stigmatize migration from Latin America, fueling xenophobic and dangerous rhetoric.

Caracas, it noted, formally presented a complaint at an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and demanded an immediate regional response to Trump’s remarks.

Shortly after Trump's comments, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro decried the CIA’s role in various conflicts around the globe.

"No to war in the Caribbean...No to regime change...No to coups d'etat orchestrated by the CIA," he said. “How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups? Latin America doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them and repudiates them.”

Recently, the Trump administration deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and fighter jets to the Caribbean to allegedly combat drug smuggling into the United States.

For at least five times, the US military has conducted lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers off the coast of Venezuela.

Trump announces US military strike on Venezuelan vessel

President Donald Trump has announced that US military forces conducted a strike on a Venezuelan vessel en route to the United States, alleging it belonged to a drug cartel.

Additionally on Wednesday, Venezuela's UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada sent a letter to the Security Council, saying Washington has killed at least 27 people in its strikes on "civilian vessels transiting international waters."

He further asked the 15-member world body to "investigate" the strikes in order to "determine their illegal nature" and issue a statement "reaffirming the principle of unrestricted respect for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of states," including Venezuela.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir