Putin telephones Venezuelan president to supply Russia’s assist after Trump seizes oil tanker off coast
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed full support for under-fire Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as his feud with Donald Trump ramps up.
Putin called Maduro a day after United States forces seized control of an oil tanker in Venezuela as part of an escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro’s government.
The Kremlin said Putin ‘expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people’ and ‘confirmed his support for the Maduro government’s policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.’
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: ‘We hope that the White House will manage to prevent a further slide into a full-scale conflict, which threatens to have unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere.’
Putin and Maduro have developed a close bond this year, with the Venezuelan leader recently visiting Moscow and signing a broad partnership agreement between the two nations.
Venezuelan authorities said Putin had ‘categorically reaffirmed his support’ for Maduro in their call.
It said in a statement that Putin had told Maduro that direct communication between Moscow and Caracas would ‘remain permanently open’ and Russia would continue to support Venezuela ‘in its struggle to assert its sovereignty, international law, and peace throughout Latin America.’
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the call between the two leaders would not be ‘concerning to the president at all.’
Putin called Maduro a day after United States forces seized control of an oil tanker in Venezuela as part of an escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro’s government
The Kremlin said Putin ‘expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people’ and ‘confirmed his support for the Maduro government’s policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure’
Both men have also drawn the ire of Trump since his return to office.
Trump has expressed fury and disappointment with Putin over his handling of the war with Ukraine, which the US leader had vowed to end and considered an easy fix.
But the majority of Trump’s contempt has been reserved for Maduro, whom he considers an illegitimate leader.
Maduro has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States and has been under immense pressure from the Trump administration to leave office.
The US has built up its largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats.
As of December, the US military has killed at least 87 people in strikes on boats in the Caribbean since September.
Trump told Politico this week Maduro’s ‘days are numbered,’ while declining to say whether he would be willing to send US troops into Venezuela.
And on Wednesday, Trump ramped up the conflict again when US troops stormed the oil tanker from their helicopters with rifles raised and seized control.
‘We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large – the largest one ever seized actually,’ he revealed on Wednesday.
Maduro was seen dancing and singing with supporters amid Trump’s ongoing threats this week
Maduro brushed off Trump’s threats on Wednesday, urging his citizens to ‘stand like warriors… ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire.’
The US has built up its largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats
As of December, the US military has killed at least 87 people in strikes on boats in the Caribbean since September
Trump said ‘I assume we’re going to keep the oil’, noting it was seized for ‘very good reason.’
Attorney General Pam Bondi later expanded on his comments, writing on X the military had ‘executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.’
‘For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.
‘This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely – and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.’
During testimony before Congress on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem linked the seizure of the vessel to the Trump administration’s anti-drug efforts in the region.
Leavitt said the oil seizure would follow standard protocol, but Venezuela’s government said the tanker seizure ‘constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.’
Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him from office.
He brushed off Trump’s threats on Wednesday, urging his citizens to ‘stand like warriors… ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire.’
Trump said this week Maduro’s ‘days are numbered,’ while declining to say whether he would be willing to send US troops into Venezuela
Extraordinary pictures and video emerged from Venezuela showing the under-pressure leader dancing and laughing with supporters while holding the sword of Simón Bolívar, a famed military official and former President of Peru.
During the celebration, he partied to American singer Bobby McFerrin’s hit, ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy.’
‘In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,’ he said.
‘With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.’
