Caracas appears to be in Washington’s crosshairs. Since August, when US President Donald Trump first ordered US warships to deploy off the coast of Venezuela, the White House has approved multiple targeted strikeson suspected drug trafficking vessels leaving Venezuela and authorized CIA operations within the country, among other actions. Some US officials have privately stated that a goal is to remove Venezuelan autocrat Nicolás Maduro from power, although US strategic intentions remain unclear.
As Maduro faces increased pressure, including the risk of impending US military strikes, he has turned to Venezuela’s autocratic allies for help. According to reporting by the Washington Post, Maduro has implored China, Iran, and Russia for missiles, radars, drones, and other military capabilities and assistance.
Of these three countries, Russia has long been the most important for Venezuela, and Maduro reportedly sent his request directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin in October. But with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its third year and the country’s already weakened economy facing increased pressure from a new wave of US and European Union sanctions, there are significant limits to the aid that Moscow can provide Maduro—and an open question whether it will continue its assistance if the Venezuelan leader is threatened.
A long-standing partnership
Russia and Venezuela have long had close ties, with the partnership deepening significantly after then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reached out to Putin in 2000 for much-needed support. In the twenty-five years since then, Russia has been a vital source of military and economic aid for Venezuela. While Russian state-linked oil companies receive some oil in return for their investments, the real benefit of Moscow’s investment in Venezuela is geopolitical. In return for arms and money, Russia gains a significant foothold in South America, helping to fulfill Putin’s ambitions of making Russia a great power and challenging the United States in its own hemisphere. Russia’s support for Venezuela furthers the Kremlin’s ability to act as a spoiler for US interests, and it has the potential to pull US attention and resources away from opposing Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.
Voice of Ukraine 