(MENAFN) Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced on Sunday that he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who extended Russia’s "full expression of support and solidarity" following a recent U.S. military attack on a ship near Venezuela.

According to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, "Sergey Lavrov said that Russia strongly condemns the new strike by the US armed forces on Oct. 3 on a ship in international waters near Venezuela."

The strike resulted in four fatalities. U.S. officials claim the vessel was carrying "substantial amounts of narcotics -- headed to America to poison our people."

Gil shared on Telegram that Moscow has pledged to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a "Zone of Peace."

Addressing the incident, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia during the Navy's 250th-anniversary event. He commended the military for targeting what he described as "cartel terrorists."

"They’re not coming in by sea anymore, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land," Trump said—comments some interpreted as an implicit warning toward Venezuela.

This October 3 attack marks at least the fourth U.S. strike in recent weeks, which have collectively caused at least 21 deaths.

The Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolas Maduro, insists that Washington is aiming to oust him from power.

Gil also emphasized the "repeated threats from political sectors in the US that seek to justify a military deployment in our region, putting the stability of the continent at risk."

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