\n<\/p>\n
United States President Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Nicolas Maduro, saying \u201cit would be smart\u201d for the Venezuelan leader to leave power, as Washington escalates a pressure campaign against Caracas.<\/p>\n
The warning on Monday came as Russia pledged \u201cfull support\u201d for Maduro\u2019s government and China condemned the US\u2019s seizure of two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Trump, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida alongside his top national security aides, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, suggested that he remains ready to further escalate his four-month pressure campaign.<\/p>\n When asked if the \u2060goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters: \u201cWell, I think it probably would\u2026 That\u2019s up to him what he wants to do. I think it\u2019d be smart for him to do that. But again, we\u2019re gonna find out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it\u2019ll be the \u200blast time he\u2019s ever able to play \u200ctough,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Trump levied his latest treat as the US Coast Guard continued for a second day to chase a third oil tanker that it described as part of a \u201cdark fleet\u201d that Venezuela uses to evade US sanctions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s moving along and we\u2019ll end up getting it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n The US president also promised to keep the ships and the nearly 4 million barrels of Venezuelan oil the Coast Guard has seized so far.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll sell it. Maybe we\u2019ll keep it. Maybe we\u2019ll will use it in the strategic reserves,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re keeping it. We\u2019re keeping the ships also.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s campaign against Venezuela\u2019s vital oil sector\u00a0come\u00a0amid a large US military buildup in the region with a stated mission of combating drug trafficking, as well as more than two dozen strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation.<\/p>\n Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.<\/p>\n Venezuela denies any involvement in drug trafficking and insists that Washington is seeking to overthrow Maduro to seize the country\u2019s oil reserves, which are the world\u2019s largest.<\/p>\n It has condemned the US\u2019s vessel seizures as acts of \u201cinternational piracy\u201d.<\/p>\n Maduro fired back at Trump hours after the latest warning, saying the US president\u00a0would be \u201cbetter off\u201d if he focused on his own country\u2019s problems rather than threatening Caracas.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would be better off in his own country on economic and social issues, and he would be better off in the world if he took care of his country\u2019s affairs,\u201d Maduro said in a speech broadcast on public television.<\/p>\n The exchange of words came on the eve of a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the growing crisis.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil, slammed the US\u2019s actions and expressed support for Caracas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington\u2019s actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping,\u201d the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n China too condemned the US\u2019s latest moves as a \u201cserious violation of international law\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cChina opposes any actions that violate the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and infringe upon the sovereignty and security of other countries,\u201d said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry.<\/p>\n \u201cVenezuela has the right to develop independently and engage in a mutually beneficial cooperation with other nations. China understands and supports Venezuela\u2019s stance in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed aside Moscow\u2019s stated support for Caracas.<\/p>\n Washington, he said, was \u201cnot concerned about an escalation with Russia with regards to Venezuela\u201d as \u201cthey have their hands full in Ukraine\u201d.<\/p>\n US-Russia relations have soured in recent weeks as Trump has voiced frustration with Moscow over the lack of a resolution to the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n Gil on Monday also read a letter on state TV, signed by Maduro and addressed to UN member nations, warning the US blockade \u201cwill affect the supply of oil and energy\u201d globally.<\/p>\n \u201cVenezuela reaffirms its vocation for peace but also declares with absolute clarity that it is prepared to defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its resources in accordance with international law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we responsibly warn that these aggressions will not only impact Venezuela. The blockade and piracy against Venezuelan energy trade will affect oil and energy supply, increase instability in international markets, and hit the economies of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world, especially in the most vulnerable countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n United States President Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Nicolas Maduro, saying \u201cit would be smart\u201d for the Venezuelan leader to leave power, as Washington escalates a pressure campaign against Caracas. The warning on Monday came as Russia pledged \u201cfull support\u201d for Maduro\u2019s government and China condemned the US\u2019s seizure of two oil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Maduro fires back<\/h2>\n
US blockade<\/h2>\n
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