United States President Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Nicolas Maduro, saying “it would be smart” for the Venezuelan leader to step down, as Washington escalated a pressure campaign that drew sharp rebukes from Russia and China.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump suggested he was prepared to further ratchet up the tensions after four months of mounting pressure on Caracas.

When asked if the ⁠goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters: “Well, I think it probably would… That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it’d be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re gonna find out.”

“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play ‌tough,” the US leader added.

Trump levied his latest threat as the US Coast Guard continued for a second day to chase a third oil tanker, which it described as part of a “dark fleet” that Venezuela uses to evade US sanctions.

“It’s moving along, and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said.

The US president also promised to keep the two ships and the nearly 4 million barrels of Venezuelan oil the coastguard has seized so far.

“Maybe we’ll sell it [the oil]. Maybe we’ll keep it. Maybe we will use it in the strategic reserves,” he said. “We’re keeping it. We’re keeping the ships also.”

Maduro fires back

For his part, Maduro hit back at Trump’s latest salvo, saying in a speech broadcast on public television that the US president would be better served if he focused on his own country’s problems rather than threatening Caracas.

“He would be better off in his own country on economic and social issues, and he would be better off in the world if he took care of his country’s affairs,” Maduro said.

The campaign against Venezuela’s critical oil sector comes amid a large US military buildup in the region with a stated mission of combating drug trafficking, as well as more than two dozen strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation.

Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.

Shortly after Trump spoke, the US military said it killed another person in a strike on a “low-profile vessel” suspected of carrying drugs in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Venezuela denies any involvement in drug trafficking and insists that Washington is seeking to overthrow Maduro to seize the country’s oil reserves, which are the world’s largest.

It has also condemned the US’s vessel seizures as acts of “international piracy”.

The escalating tensions preceded a United Nations Security Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday to address the growing crisis. The session was set at Venezuela’s request, which was backed by Russia and China.

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov on Monday expressed “deep concern” over the US’s Caribbean operations in a telephone conversation with Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil, warning of potential consequences for regional stability and international shipping.

Moscow “reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context,” according to a Russian foreign ministry statement.

US blockade

China also condemned the US’s latest moves as a “serious violation of international law”.

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said Beijing “opposes any actions that violate the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and infringe upon the sovereignty and security of other countries”.

“Venezuela has the right to develop independently and engage in a mutually beneficial cooperation with other nations. China understands and supports Venezuela’s stance in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests,” he added.

Gil, the Venezuelan foreign minister, meanwhile read a letter on state television, signed by Maduro and addressed to UN member nations, warning that the US blockade would disrupt global oil and energy supplies.

“Venezuela reaffirms its vocation for peace, but also declares with absolute clarity that it is prepared to defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its resources in accordance with international law,” he said.

“However, we responsibly warn that these aggressions will not only impact Venezuela. The blockade and piracy against Venezuelan energy trade will affect oil and energy supply, increase instability in international markets, and hit the economies of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world, especially in the most vulnerable countries.”