Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed deep concern over the recent U.S. military strike on a vessel off the Venezuelan coast, calling it a dangerous escalation that could destabilize the wider Caribbean region. In a statement released after a phone conversation with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil, Lavrov said Moscow “strongly condemns the new strike by U.S. armed forces on October 3, conducted in international waters near Venezuela.”
According to the Russian diplomat, the incident reflects “Washington’s increasingly aggressive posture in the Caribbean Sea, fraught with far-reaching consequences for the entire region.” Lavrov added that there is “no certainty that the United States will refrain from linking its declared war on drug cartels to the current instability in Haiti,” warning of the potential for broader regional entanglements.
The remarks come amid mounting tensions between Moscow and Washington, as the Kremlin accuses the United States of interfering militarily in Latin America under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. Recent reports indicate that diplomatic channels between Washington and Caracas have effectively collapsed. President Donald Trump has reportedly ended all remaining outreach efforts to Venezuela, instructing his envoy Richard Grenell to terminate back-channel discussions with the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s support for Venezuela’s sovereignty, emphasizing that any foreign military actions near its borders “violate international norms and risk igniting new sources of instability in the hemisphere.” As the situation unfolds, analysts warn that the incident could deepen the geopolitical rift between the U.S. and Russia in Latin America, a region once again emerging as a stage for strategic influence and diplomatic confrontation.
