Russia’s response to the arrest of its ally in Venezuela, narco-terrorist kingpin Nicolás Maduro, has been low-key as of Tuesday afternoon.
Moscow advised its own citizens to avoid travel to Venezuela, but took no firm action in response to Maduro’s unexpected travel from Venezuela on Saturday morning.
Russia’s Economic Development Ministry warned Russian travelers to Venezuela of risks to their safety “in connection with armed aggression by the United States,” including “threats of repeat attacks.”
The ministry advised suspending tour packages to Venezuela, allowing tourists to cancel any trips they had purchased with a full refund. Tourists already in Venezuela were advised to exercise caution and watch for instructions from local officials and Russian diplomatic staff.
The Russian embassy in Caracas said it was fully up and running, and was aware of no harm befalling Russian citizens during the U.S. military operation on Saturday morning.
On Tuesday, Russia issued a statement welcoming Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president, and while it complained about “blatant neocolonial threats and foreign armed aggression,” it did not mention the United States or President Donald Trump by name.
“We firmly insist that Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive external interference,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“We welcome the efforts undertaken by the official authorities of this country to protect state sovereignty and national interests. We reaffirm Russia’s unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and government,” the statement added.
Some Russians were flabbergasted that President Vladimir Putin did not lift a finger to protect his longtime ally Maduro.
Al Jazeera News on Tuesday described a meme on Russian social media that quoted Putin stating, “We don’t give upon our own” — followed by a string of photos of fallen Russian allies, from Muammar Qaddafi of Libya in 2011 to Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2024, and now Maduro. Putin has yet to make a statement about Maduro’s arrest.
A few disgruntled Russian military bloggers noted that American forces waltzed past Russian air defense systems to get to Maduro on Saturday, apparently with very little difficulty. The reputation of Russian weapons has already taken quite a beating during the long and grinding war for Ukraine.
Al Jazeera quoted various theories from analysts, ranging from Putin secretly writing Maduro off during his meeting with Trump in Alaska last August as part of a wide-ranging economic and security deal, to Putin hoping that Trump might agree that both America and Russia have “spheres of interest” that should be mutually respected.
Like other Maduro allies, Putin might also be playing the situation carefully because he does not want to risk Russian investments and assets in Venezuela by antagonizing the United States. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyst Galiya Ibragimova wondered if Putin might be afraid the U.S. could take him out the same way it stunned the world by pinching Maduro.
“Putin is most frightened by the fact that in Maduro’s coterie, there was a person who leaked information to Americans, and now Putin — with his paranoid conviction that everyone is after him — will firstly boost his own security,” Ibragimova told Al Jazeera.
Politico on Tuesday quoted analysts who saw a cloud of dejection settling over Moscow as its client dictators topple like bowling pins, former allies like Armenia and Azerbaijan look to the West, the United States reasserts its hemispheric Monroe Doctrine (cheekily redubbed the “Donroe Doctrine” by Trump), and Putin can do little but pour more blood and money into the Ukraine meat grinder.
“Putin must be unbearably jealous,” said former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov. “What Putin promised to do in Ukraine, Trump did in half an hour.”
“Putin himself created a world where the only thing that matters is success. And now the Americans have shown how it’s done, while Putin’s humiliation is obvious for everyone to see,” Gallyamov added.
“We’ve suffered another blow to our image. Another country that was counting on Russia’s help hasn’t received it,” growled Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, recalling Moscow’s helpless silence while the United States and Israel destroyed Iran’s nuclear program last year.
“All of Russia is asking itself why we don’t deal with our enemies in a similar way. Do like Trump, do it better than Trump. And faster,” moaned another nationalist blogger, Aleksandr Dugin.
Politico wryly noted that Putin could not even furnish Maduro with the time-honored final benefit of alliance with Moscow: a luxurious retirement estate for deposed dictators.
Having launched the world’s most devastating war of imperial conquest against Ukraine in 2022, the Russians are not even in a position to score a few cheap political points by complaining about the alleged violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, although a few of the more optimistic Russian war-hawk bloggers fantasized that America would somehow have reduced standing to criticize Putin’s vicious war.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.