Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire” Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

Russia and its close ally Belarus reached out to Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up pressure for his removal, raising the possibility he could seek refuge abroad.

Trump said that “other things are happening” in addition to the U.S. military’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker

Maduro has survived predictions and ridicule, but along the way, Venezuela lost millions of inhabitants, 72% of its economy, democratic legitimacy in the eyes of much of the world, and many of its most important international allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone on Thursday and reassured him of Moscow's support for his government's course in the face of growing external pressure,

Now, President Donald Trump wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power. Maduro’s “days are numbered,” Trump told Politico in an interview released on Dec. 9. His Administration considers Maduro the head of a government-sponsored cocaine smuggling syndicate.

The escalation targeting President Nicolás Maduro revives a Cold War playbook that had severe and lasting consequences for Latin American democracies and economies.

Treasury sanctions Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's "narco-nephews" for drug trafficking, targeting Venezuela's alleged criminal network.