Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro blasted the United States as “Pirates of the Caribbean” after U.S. Coast Guard forces, backed by the Navy, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast in a rare operation to commandeer a merchant vessel. Caracas condemned the move as “international piracy,” alleging that U.S. forces “kidnapped” the crew and “stole” the ship as part of President Donald Trump’s escalating effort to choke off Venezuela’s vital oil revenues and force regime change. Maduro said he discussed the crisis in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, according to both governments, reaffirmed his support for Venezuela’s sovereignty and denounced growing external pressure on Caracas. Watch for more
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