Russia confirmed on Sunday, November 2, that it is maintaining contact with Venezuela, after reports emerged about a possible request for support from President Nicolás Maduro to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"We are in contact with our Venezuelan friends," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS news agency.

According to The Washington Post, Maduro has asked Russia, China, and Iran for help to strengthen the country's defense against US pressure.

Peskov, who did not directly mention Maduro's alleged request, nevertheless stressed that Russia and Venezuela are bound by"contractual obligations".

Russia and Venezuela signed a strategic partnership agreement last May during a visit by Maduro to Moscow.

This week, Russia reiterated its support for Venezuela in the face of"existing and potential" threats emanating from the U.S.

Several reports published this Friday indicate that the US is further increasing its military deployment in the Caribbean or is even planning attacks against targets in Venezuela, raising fears of a Washington offensive against the Maduro government despite Donald Trump's denial of that possibility.

According to defense journalists, the U.S. will have eight warships, three amphibious ships and a submarine in the area within a few days, with a total of thirteen naval personnel, its largest deployment since the first Gulf War (1990-1991), according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Going a step further were the reports in the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, which, citing sources close to the Trump administration, asserted that the United States is preparing to bomb military installations inside Venezuela at any moment.

Maduro has repeatedly denounced that Washington wants to remove him from power and has called on the US to abandon its military plans regarding Venezuela.

US sends another missile-launching ship to the Caribbean

The US Armed Forces deployed the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) to the Caribbean, defense journalists reported on Friday, while US President Donald Trump denied reports of imminent attacks on Venezuela.

The USS Gettysburg arrived in the Caribbean on Thursday from Norfolk, Virginia, joining the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70), according to journalist Dan Lamothe of The Washington Post, a fact also reported by the specialized media outlet The War Zone, based on sources from the United States Navy.

Meanwhile, the USS Fort Lauderdale, which was in the Caribbean, returned to Florida.

In addition, the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the most modern and important in the US fleet, is expected to arrive in the Caribbean in a few days, joining the rest of the naval forces that are off the coast of Venezuela.

With this, the US will have eight warships, six of them destroyers, three amphibious ships and a submarine in the area, with a total of thirteen naval personnel, its largest deployment since the first Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).