In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has lashed out at Donald Trump, calling the US president a white supremacist and accusing him of undermining Venezuela for his own ends.

Speaking to BBC’s Orla Guerin, he said the US was waging a "political war" for the extreme right in order to take over his country. </s> ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Embattled Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro has claimed the Trump administration is an "extremist group" that is ruled by the Ku Klux Klan.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Maduro branded Donald Trump's government a “gang of extremists” as he accused the White House of warmongering.

"They are warmongering in order to take over Venezuela," he said.

Mr Maduro also called for the world to “wake up" to the "aggression” against his country.

In the interview, he said he hoped "this extremist group in the White House is defeated by powerful world-wide public opinion".

Speaking in Caracas, he said: "It's a political war, of the United States empire, of the interests of the extreme right that today is governing, of the Ku Klux Klan, that rules the White House, to take over Venezuela."

Asked if Donald Trump is a white supremacist, Mr Maduro said: “He is, publicly and openly.

“He has encouraged fascist tendencies, the neo-fascists and the neo-Nazis in the United States, in Europe and in Latin America.

“It’s an extremist grouping that hates the world. They hate us and belittle us because they only believe in their own interests and in the interests of the United States.”

He added: “In this battle we are fighting for Venezuela, I am telling you it’s a battle that goes further than our country.

“I call upon the people of the world to wake up, open your eyes to see it is an aggression against a peaceful country.”

Protesters returned to the streets on Tuesday, three weeks after opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked a constitutional provision to assume the presidency.

While most Western counties, including the US, have recognised Mr Guaido as Venezuela's president, Mr Maduro has retained control of state institutions including the military. </s> Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro called Donald Trump’s government a “gang of extremists” and blamed the United States for his country’s crisis in an interview with the BBC.

Maduro told the British news media outlet that he would allow humanitarian aid into Venezuela, as it was a way for the United States to justify an intervention.

“They are warmongering in order to take over Venezuela,” Maduro said.

Most Western governments, including the United States, have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president.

The BBC reports that Maduro is facing growing internal and international pressure to call early presidential elections amid a worsening economic crisis and accusations of widespread corruption and human rights violations.

Guaidó, on his part, called for anti-government protests later on Tuesday.

Maduro told the BBC that he hoped “this extremist group in the White House is defeated by powerful world-wide public opinion.”

“It’s a political war, of the United States empire, of the interests of the extreme right that today is governing, of the Ku Klux Klan, that rules the White House, to take over Venezuela.”

The United States has imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela, including against state-owned oil company, PDVSA, looking to hit Venezuela’s main source of revenue as leverage to precipitate new elections in the country. </s> Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has slammed sanctions imposed by the US government against the South American country for holding a controversial constitutional assembly election amid violent protests.

"You're with Trump or you're with Venezuela, you're with Trump or you're with the democracy, you're with Trump or you're with the free people of the world, that's the decision, you're with Trump or you're with the free world," Maduro said on Monday in a televised speech.

"They are the decisions that express their impotence, their despair, their hatred. They express the character of the magnate, who is emperor of the US."

Maduro also responded to Washington's threat to suspend the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a body that the President created to rewrite the nation's constitution, saying: "I do not obey imperial orders of foreign governments".

"Trump is more disowned in the US and in the world than (former US President) George W. Bush," who declared himself 'anti-colonialist, anti-racist' and against the Ku Klux Klan that rules the White House," the Venezuelan leader said.

US National Security Adviser Herbert R. McMaster on Monday announced direct sanctions by the US government, including freezing Maduro's assets in Washington and prohibiting American citizens from carrying out economic transactions with the Venezuelan leader.

"Maduro is not just a bad leader. He is now a dictator," said McMaster, adding that Maduro has joined "a very exclusive club", that includes Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who have all been sanctioned by Washington.

The US imposed sanctions in response to the July 30 elections of representatives of the Constituent Assembly that Maduro planned to use to draft a new national charter.

However, the opposition and other social societies criticized the move as a way for Maduro to consolidate a dictatorship in the country.

The US along with other South American nations and the European Union (EU) have said they will not recognise the assembly established from the vote.

The Venezuelan Attorney General said rge July 30 protests against the elections left a total of 10 persons dead, however the opposition alliance Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) said the toll was 14.

The latest victims bring the total death toll from the wave of anti-government protests that began on April 1 to 121 with over thousands others injured.

The government said more than 8 million Venezuelans voted in the July 30 elections. The MUD refused to participate as it considered the vote "fraudulent". </s> MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned members of Venezuela’s military who remain loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, “you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You’ll lose everything.”

Maduro retaliated late on Monday that Trump’s speech was “nazi-style” and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States, many of Venezuela’s neighbors and most Western countries have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaido or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader’s offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaido, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country’s leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans’ scant access to food and medicine.

U.S. President Donald Trump pauses speaks about the crisis in Venezuela during a visit to Florida International University in Miami, Florida, U.S., February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

“We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars,” he said in televised comments on Monday. “We will not accept it.”

Maduro said Venezuela already received “humanitarian assistance” on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tonnes of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

BROAD ATTACK ON SOCIALISM

“We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open,” Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump’s repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely.The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump’s aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaido, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a “decisive moment” to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a “dying” ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a “puppet” of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers with their faces painted march during a military parade to celebrate the 205th anniversary of Venezuela's independence in Caracas, Venezuela July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

“America will never be a socialist country,” he said.

Trump wants to boost support among Florida’s Hispanic voters as he looks ahead to his re-election campaign in 2020, when Florida is again expected to be an important swing state. </s> CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the speech of US Vice President Mike Pence at the UN Security Council on Venezuela.

The Venezuelan president strongly criticized the US vice president for having compared the current Venezuelan government to that of Nazi Germany.

“Today he [Pence] went to the UN to declare that I am Adolf Hitler and that the world should unite as it was united against Adolf Hitler. I believe that Adolf Hitler is on the other side. The supremacists, the fascists, the racists are not ruling in Venezuela, they are ruling in the North,” Maduro said, in reference to North America/the United States.

“A speech full of lies, falsehood, manipulation, false news, smelly, Mike Pence’s speech stinks, his speech about Venezuela stinks,” the president said in a broadcast on television and radio.

Likewise, the head of state reminded the government of Donald Trump that in Venezuela, the president is not chosen by a US official.

“Today [Mike Pence] made a speech as a US presidential candidate […] they believe in the empire that rules, that governs, that overthrows and puts [in power],” said Maduro.

Earlier, Pence told Venezuela’s UN deputy, Samuel Moncada, that he should resign from that body and demanded that the Security Council recognize the opposition Juan Guaidó as Venezuelan president.

On January 21, mass protests erupted in Venezuela against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shortly after he took office for the second term.

On January 23, the country’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, proclaimed himself acting president, having been supported by Brazil, the United States and several other countries. Maduro received the support of such countries as Russia, Mexico, China, Turkey, Indonesia and others.

Although Guaidó’s coup attempted two and a half months ago, he has had no success with no major defections from the military, no control of any governmental bodies, and is now being prosecuted as a traitor. </s> Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivered his most scathing critique of US President Donald Trump, telling him to stop intervening and “get your pig hands out of here.” Speaking before a crowd of supporters, a fired-up Maduro yesterday accused Trump of promoting an interventionist policy that infringes on his socialist government’s sovereignty.

“Go home, Donald Trump!” he said in heavily accented English.

The remarks come a day after the Trump administration slapped sanctions against eight members of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, accusing them of damaging the nation’s democracy. A ruling by the court in late March stripping the opposition-controlled assembly of its remaining powers ignited a deadly wave of unrest. While Venezuelan leaders have lashed out at US presidents frequently in the past, Maduro had largely been careful not to antagonise Trump. But Trump’s repeated criticisms of the troubled South American nation appear to have struck a nerve.

Speaking alongside Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Thursday, Trump expressed dismay at Venezuela’s crisis, asking how a country holding the nation’s largest oil reserves could be stricken by so much poverty and turmoil. Trump described Venezuela’s current state as a “disgrace to humanity.”

Nearly two months of street protests throughout Venezuela have left at least 46 people dead. Demonstrators are demanding new elections and blaming Maduro for the nation’s triple-digit inflation, rising crimes and vast food shortages. Trump’s comments and US sanctions against Venezuelan officials played to the government’s longstanding accusations of US imperialism.

“Get your hands out of here. Get your pig hands out of here!” Maduro said to the US president.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now </s> Tensions flared once again Wednesday between the United States and Venezuela as Donald Trump called for the release of a jailed foe of President Nicolas Maduro, who warned the new US leader not to provoke him.

Diplomatic rows have become somewhat commonplace over the past 20 years between Venezuela's leftist leaders and Washington, the "imperialist" power they love to hate. They have not traded ambassadors since 2010.

But with the Republican Trump only in office since January 20, any hope of some kind of breakthrough appeared to be quickly vanishing.

"Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately," Trump tweeted.

The post included a picture of Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori and Florida Senator Marco Rubio at the White House. Trump's public schedule had only mentioned a dinner with Rubio.

Lopez, the founder of Popular Will, one of the most hardline of the parties opposing Maduro, is serving a 14-year prison term on charges of inciting unrest at anti-government protests that left 43 people dead in early 2014.

Ties had already been rattled on Monday, when the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Maduro's powerful Vice President Tareck El Aissami and a businessman, whom US authorities accuse of being involved in drug trafficking.

The US Treasury department froze the US assets of El Aissami and the businessman, Samark Jose Lopez Bello, and banned US nationals from doing business with them.

The Caracas government credits El Aissami with cracking down on drug trafficking while serving as interior minister. But the US Treasury says he oversaw shipments of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico and the United States.

Maduro demanded a public apology and a diplomatic complaint was lodged. Then on Wednesday, Venezuela pulled the plug on CNN's Spanish-language channel, accusing it of spreading "propaganda."

Until Monday, Caracas had been somewhat cautious in its stance towards Trump's new administration. But that attitude has disappeared, and on Wednesday, Maduro stepped up the rhetoric.

Shortly before Trump sent the tweet about Lopez, Maduro had warned the US leader that he would respond with a firm hand to any action by Washington he deemed to be aggressive, though he said he did not want any "problems."

"If they attack us, we will not be silent. Venezuela will respond firmly. Those who tangle with us will get an appropriate response," Maduro said on state television.

Venezuela's dispute with CNN stems from its reporting about an alleged visa racket at the country's embassy in Iraq.

The story shown on CNN in Spanish on February 6 alleged that Venezuelan passports and visas had been sold at the Baghdad embassy to Arabs who the channel said may have been linked to terrorism.

The report named El Aissami as one of those behind the racket. The hardline former interior minister, 42, is next in line to Maduro and would take over if the opposition succeeded in its bid to oust the leader in a vote.

A severe economic crisis in Venezuela driven by falling prices for its crucial oil exports has contributed to food shortages and deep economic disarray, raising pressure to remove Maduro from power.

"CNN is an instrument of war," Maduro said on state television.

Within moments of the National Telecommunications Commission ordering "the immediate suspension of broadcasts by the news channel CNN in Spanish," the channel disappeared from screens.

CNN responded by saying the government was "denying Venezuelans news and information from our television network, which they have relied upon for 20 years."

It said its CNN in Spanish broadcasts would remain available in Venezuela online through its website and on its YouTube channel.

CNN International, the English-language channel of the US network, was not affected and remained on air.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that one of the channel's sources in the report, embassy employee Misael Lopez, was a criminal and the visa allegation were "based absolutely on falsehoods.

The channel had "launched an operation of psychological warfare, a war propaganda operation," she said.

In its statement, CNN said it stood by its reporting. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned members of Venezuela’s military who remain loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, “you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You’ll lose everything.”

Maduro retaliated late on Monday that Trump’s speech was “nazi-style” and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States, many of Venezuela’s neighbors and most Western countries have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaido or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader’s offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaido, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country’s leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans’ scant access to food and medicine.

“We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars,” he said in televised comments on Monday. “We will not accept it.”

Maduro said Venezuela already received “humanitarian assistance” on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tonnes of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

“We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open,” Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump’s repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely.The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump’s aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaido, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a “decisive moment” to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a “dying” ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a “puppet” of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

“America will never be a socialist country,” he said.

Trump wants to boost support among Florida’s Hispanic voters as he looks ahead to his re-election campaign in 2020, when Florida is again expected to be an important swing state.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in an interview with the BBC's Orla Guerin, accuses U.S. President Donald Trump of being openly a white supremacist who is "warmongering against Venezuela", saying that "the Ku Klux Klan is running the White House".