Russia accused the U.S. of threatening regional security after President Donald Trump ordered a naval build-up in the waters near Venezuela and struck a boat he said belonged to a drug cartel operating under the control of the Maduro regime.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said the U.S. was exerting "blatant pressure" on Venezuela when asked for her response to the escalating situation between Washington and Caracas.

"This is a special page in world history," Zakharova told a press briefing at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia, which is an ally of Venezuela.

"What the West has been doing towards states that want to pursue their own independent policies is absolutely inadmissible."

Trump said 11 members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, desig

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