Amid pressure from United States President Donald Trump on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the Russian Foreign Ministry began removing the families of Russian diplomats from the South American country.
The information was published by the Associated Press (AP), which cited as a source a European intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, women and children are being removed, in an action that began last Friday (19). The source added that Russian Foreign Ministry officials are assessing the situation in Venezuela in “very gloomy tones.”
This Monday (22), Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said that Russia offered “all its cooperation” and support to Venezuela against the blockade of oil tankers by the United States.
This month, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had already spoken by phone with Maduro and reaffirmed the Kremlin’s “support” for the Chavista dictatorship in “protecting the national interests and sovereignty” of the South American country “amid growing external pressures”, according to a statement.
Since the end of August, the United States has been carrying out an operation against drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea (which also includes bombings in the Pacific Ocean), near the coast of Venezuela. Trump said that this offensive will soon be complemented with actions on the ground – the Republican president stated that Maduro’s days are “numbered”.
In addition to accusing the Venezuelan dictator and members of his regime of links to drug trafficking, Trump said that Maduro had encouraged the entry of illegal immigrants into the United States during the Joe Biden administration (2021-2025).
However, in recent days, the Republican president has been modifying his speech to justify the pressure on Maduro and emphasizing the objective of recovering oil that Venezuela had “stolen” from the United States.
