Maduro says the U.S. is faking a crisis in order to go to war in South America

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is accusing the United States of "trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America."

Venezuela is in crisis, and Maduro is ignoring calls to step down. The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president, and on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Bogota to announce that "stronger sanctions" would be imposed against Maduro. He also said the U.S. would give $56 million more in humanitarian aid for Venezuelan citizens who are dealing with food and medicine shortages.

In an interview with ABC News' Tom Llamas on Monday, Maduro said the U.S. really just cares about Venezuela's oil. "The extremist Ku Klux Klan government that Donald Trump directs wants a war over oil, and more than just oil," he told Llamas. Venezuela is "a pacifist, humble nation" that "has the right to peace," Maduro added, and he is "prepared for direct dialogue" with the U.S. government.

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Maduro has strong opinions about U.S. leaders. Trump lies all the time, he said, and the people who surround him are "bad." Pence is a "man that does not know world politics," while National Security Adviser John Bolton is "an extremist," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is "a CIA agent that has an antiquated scheme of old intelligence from the Cold War," and special representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams is "a liar that trafficked coca, arms, drugs in Central America and the world and brought war to the United States."