Donald Trump's attack on Venezuela has sparked anger and fear inside Russia, provoking furious public criticism of Vladimir Putin US special forces seized former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a daring raid in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Venezuelan dictator is currently on his way to the US, where he has been indicted on drugs and weapons charges. The US Attorney General Pam Bondi has warned Maduro he will "face the full wrath of American justice". The Kremlin strongly criticised Maduro's removal, calling it “an act of armed aggression” that is “deeply concerning and condemnable.”
Many in Russia now fear that oil prices will sink through the floor and destroy the economy that is still heavily reliant on its energy exports.
The Russian billionaire and oligarch Oleg Deripaska warned that US control over Venezuelan oil fields will have serious consequences for the state economy.
"If our American 'partners' reach Venezuela's oil fields (and they have already reached Guyana's), they'll control more than half of the world's oil reserves," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
"And apparently their plan is to ensure that the price of our oil doesn't rise above $50 per barrel. This means that our sacred state-capitalism will find it difficult to leave everything as it is."
Others were more forthright in pointing out the potentially ruinous scenario now facing the Russian economy.
A pro-Kremlin military blogger described the situation as a "nightmare" and called Russia's political leadership traitors.
"This is not f***ing funny. Soon it won’t even be profitable for us to extract oil. In a couple of months we’ll starve to death. This is checkmate for the entire economy
"They will drop the price of oil below the floor and take over the entire market. Now, on top of everything else, they’ll also have oil.
"This is a total f***ing disaster. And we’ll be left without internet, drowning in taxes, hugging our f***ing oil.
"(...) The Americans have just extended their existence for several more centuries, while ours will end in a month."
