Russia Reaffirms Support To Venezuela's Maduro As US Aids Nobel Laureate Machado's Escape And Seizes Oil Tanker

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Just as the United States aided Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado's escape to Norway's Oslo and seized an oil tander off Venezuela's coast, Russian President Vladimir Putin dialed long-time ally President Nicolas Maduro and reaffirmed his support to the country, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Kremlin said,“Vladimir Putin expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and confirmed his support for the Maduro government's policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.”

Russia has fostered warm ties with Venezuela, with Maduro earlier this year visiting Moscow, where he attended an annual military parade and signed a broad partnership agreement with Putin.

Maria Machado's escape

Earlier on Wednesday, December 10, Maria Corina Machado travelled across the Caribbean Sea to reach Curacao, then moving to Oslo via a private jet. While the extend of the US involvement in Maria Corina Machado's escape is not known, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report mentions that the US military was informed of her crossing, to avoid the boat being targeted by airstrikes.

Machado, too, has confirmed that she had US support.

The report said that she set off on Monday, Decemver 8, wearing a wig and a disguise. She first slipped out of her hideout in a Caracas suburb, where she had been staying for nearly a year, and made her way to a coastal fishing village.

Two people assisted her escape, and the three of them crossed 10 military checkpoints without being detected during a tense 10-hour journey that brought them to the coast around midnight. From there, they embarked on a trip across the open Caribbean Sea to Curaçao in a small wooden fishing skiff.

Machado arrived in Curacao around 3:00 pm on Tuesday, December 9. She was met by a private contractor who specialises in extractions and was supplied by the Trump administration, the newspaper said.

The seizure of oil off Venezuela coast

On Wednesday, the US military seized a Venezuelan oil tanker – troops rappelled onto the tanker's deck from a helicopter and entered the ship with rifles raised.

Washington has accused Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel, which he denies. Maduro has said the US is seeking regime change because of Venezuela's vast stores of oil.

US President Donald Trump has deployed warships within striking distance of Venezuela, and at least 87 people have been killed in at least 22 strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.

(With agency inputs)

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