The United States is a fascist government that is controlled by large corporations in pursuit of money, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura told Xinhua in an interview.

Ventura, who is a former governor of Minnesota, US Army veteran, actor, author and former professional wrestler, is also an avid political activist.

He pointed out that the wealthiest people in the United States essentially rule the country, because they're the one who finance presidential campaigns, which results in the appointment of their political and economic interests.

"We're fascists now because the definition of fascism is when corporations take over the government. Our Democrats and Republicans are all bought off by the corporations so therefore the corporations call the shots," Ventura explained.

The only way to stop this fascist regime is to elect someone other than the Democrats and the Republicans, Ventura said, adding that the entire US government is a huge system based on the illusion of democracy.

"The two parties control the entire system. We don't really choose our president; they do, because they handpick who they are going to put forward to you to be the president," Ventura said.

Ventura also touched on US policies in the Middle East, stating that Washington would never care about the region, if it didn't have oil. He gave the example of the US invasion in Iraq:

"We don't care who governs Iraq. What we care about is the oil that's in Iraq."