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Russia accused the U.S. of threatening regional security after President Donald Trump ordered a naval build-up in the waters near Venezuela and struck a boat he said belonged to a drug cartel operating under the control of the Maduro regime.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said the U.S. was exerting “blatant pressure” on Venezuela when asked for her response to the escalating situation between Washington and Caracas.
“This is a special page in world history,” Zakharova told a press briefing at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia, which is an ally of Venezuela.
“What the West has been doing towards states that want to pursue their own independent policies is absolutely inadmissible.”
Trump said 11 members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, designated a terrorist group by the U.S., were killed in the strike on the boat, which he said took place in international waters as it trafficked illegal drugs to the U.S.
The strike is part of the Trump administration’s broader war against the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S., which it is seeking to end through aggressive military action against the cartels behind the trade.
“Look at the sanctions pressure. Look at the endless manipulations regarding human rights,” Zakharova said. “The situation is being exaggerated and a threat to regional security is being created.”
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