Senator Lindsey Graham fully supports the change of government in Venezuela, calling the country's government a “narco-terrorist state“, MSNBC reported.
Graham stressed that US President Donald Trump will definitely not start a war with Venezuela.
“President Trump has promised to protect our nation from the scourge of drug trafficking. The biggest drug lord in our backyard is Maduro in Venezuela. They are poisoning America“, the senator said.
Graham noted that he welcomes Trump's efforts to “take down this narco-terrorist state“. He accused Venezuela of confiscating assets in 1976, drug trafficking and ties to international terrorist organizations.
“I support the opposition to Maduro and I want him to go.“ “I am completely “for“ regime change and I would like the Venezuelan people to be able to choose a new leader who is good not only for them but also for the region and for the United States“, Graham concluded.
The United States wants a change of power in Venezuela and does not rule out war. Washington considers the current leadership a “foreign terrorist organization“, which includes President Nicolás Maduro.
US President Donald Trump said that Maduro's days are “numbered“. Maduro has called on Washington to de-escalate tensions after the US built up a significant military presence in the region in recent months, including ships and aircraft.
In mid-December, Trump imposed a complete blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers traveling to or from Venezuela. The US president said Washington was seeking to reclaim oil that he said Venezuela had "illegally appropriated". In November, Trump also declared Venezuelan airspace off-limits.
On December 10, the US seized the Skipper tanker, sanctioned for smuggling Iranian oil to fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. Venezuela called it a "blatant robbery". On December 20, another tanker, the Centuries, carrying Venezuelan oil, was seized. According to The New York Times, the tanker is also on the US sanctions list.