Earlier Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said for the first time that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “needs to be gone” – but significantly President Donald Trump followed later Monday with his own message again calling for the socialist strongman to step aside. He laid out it would be “smart” for him to leave power.
Trump was asked at Mar-a-Lago whether all the current US pressure, including tanker interdictions, was intended to push Maduro out of power. “That’s his decision,” Trump responded. “But I think it would be smart for him to do that.”
But on the question of the Venezuelan military fighting back in the case of any potential US action, Trump followed with: “If he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s able to do so.”
Trump again confirmed the US assembled a naval force that’s “by far the biggest we ever had in South America” off Venezuela’s coast, in part to enforce a blockade on its oil tanker traffic, and now it is being made crystal clear to pressure the Maduro government out of power.
Russia has remained one of the few international powers sticking by Caracas’ side, this week reiterating “full support” for Maduro’s government, also saying Moscow stands “shoulder to shoulder”.
The are reports, however, that the Russian embassy has begun to evacuate its diplomats and their families from Venezuela, faring large-scale US military actions. According to the Times:
Moscow is said to have begun evacuating the families of Russian diplomats from Venezuela as Washington increases military pressure on President Maduro.
An unnamed European intelligence official said Russia was viewing the situation in Caracas in “very grim terms”, the Associated Press reported.
The Russian foreign ministry denied the report, calling it “a lie” and “a western provocation”. Although it said the embassy was not being evacuated, it did not address the issue of whether the spouses and children of diplomats were being flown out.
Likely if it was happening, the Russians would want this done in secret so as to not add pressure to its Venezuelan ally. If Russia is perceived as ‘abandoning’ Venezuela to its fate, this will be perceived as further weakening Maduro’s position.
Russia’s foreign ministry is slamming these reports as a “provocation” in the below:
❗️Reports by Associated Press regarding alleged ‘evacuation’ of the Russian Embassy in Venezuela @EmbajadaRusaVen are simply put — A LIE.
Be careful and don’t fall for Western provocations! pic.twitter.com/bZVfFrQBT8
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) December 22, 2025
Moscow’s ‘tough’ talk is widely seen as just that – talk only which is very unlikely to be coupled with any concrete action:
Russia warned Trump last week that any military intervention by the US in Venezuela would be a “fatal mistake” that could have “unpredictable consequences for the entire western hemisphere”.
The Times notes too, “Despite strong rhetoric from pro-Kremlin hardliners, there is no indication that President Putin is prepared to take robust action to defend Maduro.”
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