Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of wanting to steal his country's oil, gas and gold, dismissing Washington’s stated motive for its recent military deployment in the Caribbean as a ruse.
"They are looking for many things. They are looking for oil, not drug trafficking," Maduro said during an interview with former leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.
"Venezuela has the main oil reserve in the world and has the fourth (largest) gas reserve, precisely in the Caribbean, where these people are commanding the fleet, and Venezuela has what could be the first gold reserve in the world," he added.
The accusations, made on Russia’s RT news channel in a new episode of the TV programme “Conversando con Correa,” came amid rising tensions between Caracas and Washington over a naval deployment ordered by the US in the Caribbean in waters close to Venezuela.
The US government claims the purpose of the deployment is an anti-drug operation.
"This is how the American empire is playing a dangerous role for our region, but a dangerous one for them too," Maduro said.
‘War plan’
"They bring out their Hollywood stories, where Maduro is the bad guy in the film and they are the good ones. They seek to use military intimidation to defend their far-right and imperial interests."
Maduro also accused the US of having a "war plan" to "forge its hegemony" in the world, a goal he called "impossible."
He further claimed that the US is "the world center for drug trafficking" and runs "all the drug trafficking in South America and the world," warning that the real mafias and cartels are in the United States.
The US has deployed eight military vessels with missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean and last week ordered F-35 fighter jets to be sent to an air base in Puerto Rico.
"They are aiming 1,200 missiles at our heads," Maduro warned.
In response to the US naval presence, Venezuela has moved its own ships, enlisted millions of militiamen and deployed a "special resource" of military presence in five regions of the country located on the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts.
