MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the country’s opposition and the US authorities of being eager to start a war for natural resources.

"No one should let themselves be fooled! The Venezuelan opposition and the US government do not want to help the country. On the contrary, they want to seize our natural resources. They want to unleash an ‘oil war’ to invade our homeland and rule here! But they will fail!" Maduro wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Venezuela Declares German Envoy Persona Non-Grata

Maduro's remark comes after earlier in the day Venezuelan Permanent Representative to the United Nations criticized Washington for being ready to use any kind of lies in order to justify its attacks on Venezuela.

Prior to that, in one of his latest interviews, US National Security Advisor John Bolton's stated that Washington could apply the Monroe Doctrine to the country: this document was adopted in 1823 and declared that all countries in Latin America were within the US sphere of influence.

Guaido's Trip

Recently opposition leader Juan Guaido has returned to Venezuela after his trip to neighbouring Latin American states, violating a travel ban imposed on him by the Venezuelan Supreme Court as part of an ongoing investigation.

READ MORE: ‘Guaido Is the Bait': US Tries to Provoke Caracas as Support for Coup Wanes

Commenting on the issue, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stated that the opposition leader must be put on trial upon returning. Guaido may now face up to 30 years in prison for violating the aforementioned travel ban.

Crisis in Venezuela

The political crisis in the Latin American country started on 23 January, when Juan Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on 10 January after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington.

The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue.