Rand Paul Slams 'People Around' Trump Are Influencing Him To Topple Venezuelan Regime: 'You Don't Know What You Get'

Republican Sen. Rand Paul again rejected the Trump administration's military pressure against the Venezuelan regime, saying the president has "people around him influencing him."

Speaking to NBC News' Meet The Press, Paul was asked if the U.S. is "on the verge of war."

"One of the things I liked about Donald Trump when he ran for office was that he was against the war in Iraq, in Libya. I'm concerned about this and I think there are people around him influencing him. I think his instinct is still against war but he's getting more interested in regime change in Venezuela because of the prodding of the Secretary of State, and others who have aggressively wanted regime change," Paul claimed.

He went on to say that regime change "doesn't always work out." "I have no like for Maduro, even wrote a book called 'The Case Against Socialism' about how bad things are in Venezuela," he added, but noted that "you don't know what you get" if the regime is indeed toppled. "People there need to fight for their liberty. It isn't the job of America," he added.

It is not the first time Paul takes aim at Rubio over the matter. Earlier this month he said that those "secretly pushing for regime change in Venezuela" seem to "forget that war powers belong to Congress, not the president."

In the meantime, the administration continues escalating its campaign. On Monday, the regime accused the U.S. of conducting a cyber attack against its state-run oil company, PDVSA, claiming its part of a broader plan to take the country's oil.

PDVSA said the alleged attack was "orchestrated by foreign interests in complicity with stateless factors looking to interfere with the country's right to sovereign energetic development."

"It's not the first time the U.S. government, allied with extremist sectors, try to affect national stability and steal Christmas from the Venezuelan people," the company added.

However, it claimed, due to its "human talent," the company's "operational areas did not suffer any impact, reducing the attack to one against its administrative system."

"The industry's operational continuity remains as a result of safety protocols allowing regular activities," PDVSA added.

The cyber attack comes just days after the regime accused Washington of "kidnapping" the crew of a seized oil tanker, escalating tensions between the countries after U.S. federal agencies carried out a maritime operation targeting a vessel accused of transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela and Iran.