Washington’s attempts to interfere in politics in South America, including in Venezuela, are “extremely dangerous” and “may lead to civil war,” former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has told RT. She added that the US has already made mistakes in the Middle East, which only led to the strengthening of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

“Our continent has been living in peace for 140 years. Any attempt to interfere in the legitimate constitutional process in Venezuela, including by forcing a presidential election, is extremely dangerous, as it might lead to a civil war,” the Brazilian politician said in an interview with RT in Moscow.

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Venezuela has been subjected to new sanctions from Washington under President Donald Trump, who has called its government a “dictatorship.” Amid massive opposition protests in the Latin American state, the US claims the Venezuelan government is cracking down on democracy. In August, the US leader also mentioned a “military option” against the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro.

READ MORE: ‘Tanks & missiles must be at ready’ amid threats by US ‘criminal empire’ – Maduro

Caracas has in turn accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs, calling the US an “aggressor” wanting a regime change in a foreign country through “political and psychological terrorism.”

Saying that it is difficult to analyze and predict Trump's actions, the former leader of Brazil said that the only thing she can say for sure is that she finds his behavior “extremely irresponsible and even criminal.”

The Venezuelan government would not agree to transfer power to opposition peacefully, Rousseff said, adding that while she cannot analyze the nature of the local anti-government forces, international modern history has shown that the US “have often been mistaken in regard to oppositions.”

'Tell Trump of ‘Simon Bolivar’ & he will think it’s a rock singer' - Maduro https://t.co/FdavXkGI4Mpic.twitter.com/3V6JKGs99q — RT (@RT_com) October 5, 2017

“[Washington] says: ‘Those are democracy supporters.’ They’ve said it about opposition forces in Syria too. And what has happened with that opposition? Islamic State has emerged, which has nothing to do with democracy.”

READ MORE: No intervention: Venezuela has right to pursue own path, Ecuador president tells RT

Now, with “Trump not ruling out the possibility of military intervention in Venezuela,” it is clear the US wants to use the same scenario in Latin America, the Brazilian politician said, once again warning against a civil war in the region.

“It has never led to any good,” she said.