The Venezuelan president should flee the country, Senator Rick Scott has suggested

A leading US senator has warned that Venezuela could soon face regime change and urged President Nicolas Maduro to flee, as the US military gathers forces off the South American country's coast.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Senator Rick Scott, who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, suggested that Maduro's rule is nearing its end.

"His days are numbered," Scott said. "Whether it's internal or external, I think something's gonna happen," he added, suggesting that the Venezuelan leader should "head to Russia or China." 

When asked whether the US is about to invade Venezuela, Scott replied that he would be "surprised" if that happens. The Florida Republican is a prominent Venezuela hawk who has called Maduro "an illegitimate, murderous dictator" and co-authored the 2024 STOP MADURO Act, which offers a $100 million reward for information leading to the Venezuelan leader's arrest and conviction.

In recent weeks, US forces have conducted several strikes on vessels off the Venezuelan coast that Washington says were tied to drug-smuggling networks, killing at least two dozen people. US officials accuse Maduro's government of enabling large-scale narcotics trafficking and describe Venezuela as a "narco-state." 

Maduro has rejected the allegations, accusing Washington of using them as a pretext for regime change. Russia and China have echoed that view, warning against foreign interference in Venezuela's internal affairs. Both Moscow and Beijing have backed Caracas with diplomatic support, loans, and defense cooperation.

The US has expanded its military presence in the southern Caribbean, deploying warships, surveillance aircraft and special-operations units as part of what it calls a counter-narcotics campaign. On Sunday, the Navy destroyer USS Gravely docked in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation just a few miles off the Venezuelan coast, to participate in joint exercises.

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Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signaled that the US could extend its campaign from maritime to land-based operations, though he has publicly denied that Washington seeks to remove Maduro from power.