Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the Kremlin reported hours after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. A Kremlin statement reaffirmed support for Caracas despite increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump for Maduro to leave office.

The Kremlin said in a statement: “Vladimir Putin expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and reaffirmed support for the Maduro government’s policies aimed at safeguarding national interests and sovereignty amid mounting external pressures.”

It comes amid increasing tensions in the region, with the US carrying out a huge military build-up in the Caribbean. Their forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday (December 10).

Trump said it was “the largest one ever seized” while Caracas labelled the action an act of “international piracy”. Footage released by the US government shows armed soldiers boarding the vessel via a military helicopter.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the tanker was being used to transport oil to Iran. However, President Maduro insisted that Venezuela would never become an “oil colony”.

Bondi said on X: “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.”

After being asked by reporters at the White House what he would do with the tanker, Trump replied: “We keep it, I guess… I assume we’re going to keep the oil.” Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government said the seizure was a “grave international crime” with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello labelling the US “murderers, thieves and pirates”.

The US continues to increase its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, including positioning the USS Gerald Ford near Venezuela. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the lead ship of the US Navy and is able to carry numerous aircraft and a crew of thousands.

At least 80 people have died in 22 strikes on boats in the region since September. Trump accused the ships of smuggling drugs across the region.