Russia backs Venezuela in standoff with US
Russia has reaffirmed it's full support and solidarity with Venezuela as the country faces a US military blockade in the Caribbean, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has announced.
Washington has deployed multiple Navy vessels to the region since September, attacking boats it claims are involved in drug trafficking with the support of the Venezuelan government and blockading oil tankers entering or leaving the country. Caracas has consistently denied Washington’s claims, accusing the US of plotting regime change to gain access to Venezuela’s natural resources.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, during which the top Russian diplomat expressed “serious concern over Washington’s increasingly escalatory actions in the Caribbean Sea,” according to the ministry statement. Lavrov added that the US military buildup could “lead to far-reaching consequences for the region and create a threat to international maritime navigation.”
Over the weekend, several media outlets, citing anonymous American officials, reported that the US Coast Guard was in “active pursuit” of a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. Over the past two weeks, US forces have already seized two tankers.
Since September, the US Navy has destroyed multiple boats off the coast of the South American country that it claims were carrying drugs. President Donald Trump has also threatened that land strikes could happen “pretty soon.”
Venezuela has characterized the seizure of oil tankers off its shores by the US Navy as an “act of piracy,” and accused Washington of seeking to install a “puppet government” in Caracas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier expressed ”solidarity with the people of Venezuela and reaffirmed his support for the [Nicolas] Maduro government’s resolve to defend national interests and sovereignty against foreign pressure.”
Earlier this month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry similarly backed Caracas, saying that Beijing opposes “all acts of unilateralism and bullying.”
