An unnamed European intelligence official revealed that the Russian Foreign Ministry has begun evacuating the families of diplomats from Venezuela.
More than 10 cars with diplomatic licenses were parked outside the Russian Embassy in Caracas on the morning of December 22. No one was seen entering or leaving the Embassy. All vehicles then moved in the early afternoon.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto held a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on December 22.
"In the phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, we once again reaffirmed the brotherhood, mutual respect and strategic partnership between the two countries," the Venezuelan diplomat shared.
According to the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, the two sides also exchanged views on US operations in the Caribbean, including attacks on ships.
Russian media reported that Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed Russia's solidarity with the Venezuelan people and President Nicolas Putin and reaffirmed his full support for Venezuela in the face of hostile actions against the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that during the phone call, Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Pinto expressed deep concern about the US's escalation in the Caribbean Sea and that Russia's top diplomat had expressed support for Venezuela in this context.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump met with senior national security officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan attended the meeting in Mar-a-Lago.
The meeting comes as the US Coast Guard steps up efforts to ban oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea in a campaign to escalate pressure on Venezuela.
The pressure campaign lasted for 4 months, with the announced goal of preventing illegal drug flows from this South American country.
In the Caribbean Sea, on December 22, the US Coast Guard continued to chase for the second consecutive day a Venezuelan oil tanker. This is the third oil tanker to be chased by the US, after confiscating the Panama-flagged Centuries on December 20. The US Coast Guard, with the support of the Navy, seized the Skipper oil tanker on December 10.
The US has accused all of these ships of being part of the underground fleet of oil tankers used to transport sanctioned goods.
After the first oil ship seizure, President Donald Trump announced that the US would implement a blockade of Venezuela.
Last week, President Donald Trump asked Venezuela to return assets that the country had seized from US oil companies many years ago.
Meanwhile, the US Department of War continues its campaign to attack smaller ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that are allegedly transporting drugs to the US and other countries. At least 104 people have been killed in 28 attacks since the start of September.
