"Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello labelled Donald Trump's comments 'abhorrent' on Wednesday, after the US president accused Caracas of stealing American assets, including oil and land. Cabello made the remarks during the broadcast of his weekly programme 'Con el Mazo Dando', rejecting Trump’s claims and arguing that Washington’s real objective is to seize Venezuela’s natural resources. “This is abhorrent. That Venezuela is stealing land from the United States? That Venezuela is stealing oil from the United States? That Venezuela is stealing other assets from the United States? For God’s sake! Check the history, Mr President [Trump],” Cabello said. He dismissed US assertions that its actions are aimed at combating organised crime or drug trafficking in the region. “It is proven what we have always said: it is the oil and our riches,” he added. In a warning directed at Washington, Cabello said Venezuela would halt oil exports entirely if US threats continue. “Not a single drop of oil” will leave the country, he said, should the United States persist with what Caracas describes as 'hostile' actions. Trump’s remarks were published on Tuesday, December 16, in a post on his Truth Social platform, in which he announced that the US military campaign in the Caribbean would continue until Venezuela “returns to the United States all the oil, land and other assets that they stole from us.” The comments have further escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro subsequently held a phone call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warning of an intensifying threat against the Venezuelan people."