GOP Rep. Salazar Says U.S. Is 'About To Go In' Venezuela: 'For Oil Companies It Will Be a Field Day'

Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said the U.S. is "about to go in" Venezuela as the Trump administration maintains its military pressure campaign against the South American country.

Speaking to Fox Business, Salazar was asked if she thought the campaign against authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro "will force him to leave on his own" as many in the U.S. "don't want actual participation in regime change in Venezuela."

"Maduro is not Fidel Castro. He's not a brave boy. Now he has understood he is in that very nefarious list of terrorist organizations. The airspace above Venezuela has been closed off and commercial airlines from the U.S. are not flying. He is understanding we are about to go in. He understands that he has been our enemy for the last 25 years," Salazar said.

She went on to say that such a scenario would be a "field day" for oil companies as they can "go in and fix oil rigs and everything that has to do with Venezuelan petroleum companies."

However, another report detailed that U.S. officials dealing with the campaign believe it will be hard to convince Maduro to leave power because he could be executed by Cuban handlers.

Axios detailed that the assessment took place as President Donald Trump plans to speak directly with Maduro even as the U.S. continues its military buildup off its coast.

A U.S. official told the outlet that there are no plans to take out Maduro at the moment. "Nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch him — at this point. I wouldn't say never, but that's not the plan right now."

"In the meantime, we're going to blow up boats shipping drugs. We're going to stop the drug trafficking," the official added.

Tensions in the region escalated even further on Monday as the designation of the Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration accuses Maduro and top official of leading, as a terrorist organization, went into effect.

In fact, another report noted that the regime is immersed in a state of paranoia. Citing two active Venezuelan intelligence officers, the Financial Times detailed that agents are "sucking up to bosses to that they or their families don't get arrested."

"The assumption is that everyone is a traitor until they prove otherwise," one agent said. "Nobody can be trusted."

The outlet added that Maduro is also tightening his security arrangements, noting that his recent public appearances have been announced at the last minute. He has appeared in front of selected crowds and party members. It is a departure with previous scheduling, which was announced ahead of time, and he would appear along with other top officials.