President Trump addressed Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in a rip-roaring speech in Miami - warning him: 'You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out'
DONALD Trump has vowed that "all options are open" to oust Venezeula's socialist dictator from power - warning him: "You will lose everything."
Addressing power-hungry Nicolas Maduro in a rip-roaring speech in front of Venezuelan and American flags in Miami, President Trump said: "You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out."
And the US president called on Venezuela's teetering military leadership to support opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Speaking at the University of Miami on Monday, Mr Trump added: "We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open."
The Venezuelan military could play a decisive role in the stalemate - but has largely remained loyal to Maduro.
Maduro accused President Trump of speaking in an "almost Nazi style" and lashed out for thinking he can deliver orders to Venezuela's military.
In remarks broadcast on state television, Maduro said: "Who is the commander of the armed forces, Donald Trump from Miami?
"They think they're the owners of the country."
Trump said "a new day is coming in Latin America," as he sought to rally support among the largest Venezuelan community in the US for Guaido.
The US recognises Guaido as the country's rightful president and condemns Maduro's government and its socialist policies.
As the crisis continues, Venezuela's military has blocked the US from moving tonnes of humanitarian aid airlifted in recent days to the Colombian border.
The aid shipments have been meant in part to dramatise the hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine that are gripping Venezuela. Trump said of Maduro: "He would rather see his people starve than give them aid."
Critics say Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent, making his second term illegal.
Venezuela's power struggle is headed to a potentially violent showdown Saturday.
Guaido will try to run caravans of US humanitarian aid across the border from Colombia.
Maduro denies a humanitarian crisis exists - blaming the Trump administration for mounting a coup against him.
They are turning the page on dictatorship and there will be no going back
Donald Trump
More than two million Venezuelans have fled the country in the last two years, most flooding across the border into Colombia, Brazil and Peru.
Those left behind struggle to afford scarce supplies of food and medicine as inflation soars.
Maduro maintains support from Russia, China and Turkey, while Guaido has won recognition from dozens of world leaders in Latin America and Europe.
They too are demanding that Maduro holds new elections or steps down.
Trump urged the Venezuelan military to accept Guaido's offer of amnesty and refrain from violence against those opposing Maduro's government.
And he praised the Venezuelan opposition, saying of the people of Venezuela: "They are turning the page on dictatorship and there will be no going back."
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier on Monday that the US "knows where military officials and their families have money hidden throughout the world."
South Florida is home to more than 100,000 Venezuelans and Venezuelan-Americans - the largest concentration in the country.
Speaking in the presidential battleground state, Trump also sought to draw a contrast with the policies of progressive Democrats - which he brands as "socialist," as he gears up for re-election.
Trump said that "socialism has so completely ravaged" Venezuela "that even the world's largest reserves of oil are not enough to keep the lights on."
He added: "This will never happen to us."
"Socialism promises prosperity, but it delivers poverty."
Shortly after Trump ended his speech, he tweeted: "I ask every member of the Maduro regime: End this nightmare of poverty, hunger and death. LET YOUR PEOPLE GO. Set your country free!
"Now is the time for all Venezuelan Patriots to act together, as one united people. Nothing could be better for the future of Venezuela!"
Guaido addressed the crowd in a pre-recorded video released by the White House and thanked Trump and the state of Florida for their support.
Trump said the US is "profoundly grateful" to dissidents and exiles who have protested and raised alarms about the actions of the Maduro government.
But his administration has also come under criticism for not doing enough to grant asylum to those fleeing the country.
Trump had been spending the holiday weekend at his private club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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