Russia and China promise support for Venezuela, while Trump steps up pressure on Maduro, the British newspaper "Guardian" wrote in the headline, BTA reported in the press review.
Amid reports of a slowdown in Venezuelan ports, US President Donald Trump again called on his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro to step down and reiterated that the US would retain or sell the oil it has seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.
When asked if his goal was to force Maduro to step down, Trump told reporters: "I think it would be wise for him to do so".
"If he wants to do something, if he tries to play tough, this will be the last time, when he can even play tough", the US president also said.
After Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers arriving and departing from Venezuela last week, tanker loading at the country's ports has slowed, with most ships transporting oil and oil products only between domestic ports, Reuters reports. The number of loaded tankers that have not set sail has increased in recent days, with millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil remaining on board and customers demanding greater discounts and changes to contracts to undertake risky voyages outside the country's waters, the Guardian notes.
China's foreign ministry said yesterday that the detention of another country's ships was a serious violation of international law after the US seized an oil tanker bound for China off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday.
The tanker, which the White House said was part of Venezuela's shadowy fleet and carrying sanctioned oil, is not currently sanctioned by the US. However, Panama's foreign minister said the supertanker "Centuries" (Centuries), which was sailing under the Panamanian flag when it was seized on Saturday, had violated the country's maritime regulations by changing its name and turning off its transponder while carrying oil from Venezuela.
Venezuela has the right to develop relations with other countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said at his daily press conference, adding that China opposes all "unilateral and illegal" sanctions.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude, accounting for about 4% of its oil imports, the Guardian reports.
The foreign ministers of Russia and Venezuela, Sergei Lavrov and Ivan Hill, criticized the US actions yesterday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the two ministers had expressed "deep concern about the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping."
"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," the statement said.
Trump said it would be "wise" for Maduro to to withdraw, and Moscow assured Caracas of its support, the French newspaper "Figaro" headlines.
The American president stressed that the United States has deployed a "giant armada" in the Caribbean Sea, including the largest aircraft carrier in the world.
In a speech that is not clear whether it was made before or after Donald Trump's statements, Maduro said that the American president "would do better (...) if he dealt with the problems of his own country", and not with those of Venezuela. Yesterday he received strong support from Russia, on the eve of a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the crisis between Washington and Caracas.
Donald Trump repeated his accusations yesterday that Venezuela has done "terrible things to the United States", sending "criminals, prisoners, drug traffickers, mentally ill and incompetents" there.
"President Trump could do better in his country and in the world. He would do better in his own country on economic and social issues and he would do better in the world if he were concerned with the affairs of his country," Maduro said. "It is not possible for him to dedicate 70 percent of his speeches and statements and his time to Venezuela. And the United States? The poor United States, which needs the housing and the jobs that he can create? Let everyone take care of their country!", the Venezuelan president said.
"Honestly, if I talk to him (Trump) again, I will tell him: "Let everyone mind their own business. Here, in Venezuela, we are dealing with our own business, with Venezuelan business," Maduro added.
In addition to recently announcing a maritime blockade of all sanctioned tankers from Venezuela, since September the US has been carrying out strikes against vessels it accuses of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. A new strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean yesterday claimed one life, bringing the death toll from US strikes to at least 105, Le Figaro reported.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil said yesterday that he had held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, noting that the two had "discussed the aggressive actions and gross violations of international law," including "attacks on ships, extrajudicial executions and illegal acts of piracy committed by the US government."
Maduro, who professes socialist ideas, is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he supported in the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Le Figaro reported.
In a letter to members of the UN Security Council, Maduro said that "state piracy" of the US "represents a direct threat to the international legal order and global security". The US, in turn, accuses Venezuela of using oil, its main wealth, to finance "narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping".
Caracas denies any connection to drug trafficking and claims that Washington is trying to overthrow Maduro to get hold of the country's oil reserves, which are the largest in the world, notes "Figaro".